It Is Not In the Stars To Hold Our Destinies
by Two-Girls-One-Story-Was-Taken
Summary: Two girls seek revenge for the deaths of their families, and end up deeper into the hunting community than they originally intended. M for language and FUTURE sexual content. WIP. OC's. No, we do not own Supernatural or any of the characters/affiliates. R&R.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I pulled into the driveway of Singer Auto, home of Bobby Singer. The Pick-N-Pull lot outside his house was laden with disheveled, broken down cars of all makes and models. I had a hard time finding the trail leading up to his actual house, and an even harder time finding his front door. When I finally did find his house, I was entirely surprised by its size. It was a three-story-tall country style house with worn out vinyl siding and a rather large front porch.

All of the lights were off in his house, which made sense considering it was two in the morning. "_I hope he's awake_," I thought to my best friend Abigail.

"_He's not_," she replied. "_I guess we'll just have to wake him up. This is important_." I rolled my eyes up to the ceiling of our old Dodge Challenger after I parked. As if I didn't know the reason Abigail and I were waking up Bobby Singer in the middle of the night was a matter of urgent importance. "_No need to get snippy_," she huffed.

"_Let's just hope he doesn't try to shoot us. Who the hell comes calling at two in the morning, anyway?_"

"_We do, because we need his help. I'm sure he's gotten plenty of people calling him in the middle of the night for help before._"

"_I guess_," I sighed and stepped out into the icy cold night. Abby followed suit and shivered against the chill. I pulled my jacket tighter around my body and walked up the creaky wooden stairs to Bobby's front door. "_Here goes nothing_." With one frozen finger, I rang the doorbell.

I could hear him wake up. "_Who the hell could that be? If that's John, I might actually just shoot him in the foot like I said I would_." A light popped on in one of the second floor windows. "_That's not John's truck…_" he thought skeptically.

"Please, hurry," I mumbled to myself as an icy cold wind whipped our backs.

There was some rustling around for a couple of minutes, the sound of a large safe being opened, and the distinct _click_ of a loaded rifle being cocked. Finally, he yelled out, "Who's there?"

"My name's Gabrielle, and I'm here with my friend Abigail! Please, Mr. Singer, we need your help! It's urgent!"

Bobby Singer was a skeptical individual. I could tell by his thoughts. He was going to keep his door shut and locked until he was sure we weren't dangerous. "Car trouble?" he asked.

"No, sir. Not exactly."

"_Hmmm. Hunters_," he wondered. "You got any weapons?"

"A few," I admitted.

"Lay 'em down at the door and walk over to the window with your hands in the air_,_" he ordered.

Abby glanced over at me, and I knew what she was thinking. Relinquishing all of your weapons after you'd been through an ordeal like ours was hard to do, but we needed Bobby. So, I started pulling all of my weapons out and setting them down in front of the door: a knife from my hip, a small hand gun, and another knife from my boot. Abigail did as I did, and we slowly walked over to the window with our hands in front of us.

Bobby Singer was looking at us through yellowed lace curtains. He looked exactly as I'd expected him to look; he was a five-foot-ten, grizzled man in his fifties or sixties with a full beard who was wearing a plaid shirt, a trucker hat, and had a Winchester rifle pointed straight at us. "Hunters?" When Abigail and I nodded, he lowered his weapon a little. "What's the nature of your business?"

"Vampires," I said and Abigail nodded in affirmation.

"Were you followed?" he demanded and raised his rifle again.

"No, sir," I shook my head and gave him the most pleading look I could muster.

"_Look awful young to be hunters_," he thought to himself. "_And to be tangling with vampires…they're so rare now-a-days…. Might as well let 'em in_." Bobby disappeared from the window and reappeared at the front door. Abby and I lowered our hands and walked around to meet him. "Keep those hands up," he ordered. I lifted my hands back up and watched as he bent to pick up the weapons we'd put on the porch.

Once he had all of our weapons in his possession, he lowered the rifle and invited us in. Before we were completely over the threshold, he doused us with salty holy water and then handed us a silver knife to make a small cut with. These were all tests that hunters had to pass before other hunters trusted them. Salt and holy water, to make sure you weren't a demon. A silver knife to make sure you weren't a shifter, a werewolf, or some other dastardly creature. Of course, Abigail and I passed all the tests.

After making sure we were completely defenseless, Bobby finally lowered his rifle completely. "Vamps, huh?" he raised his gray eyebrows. "Where'd you find those? I thought they were almost extinct."

"We found them in Chicago," I explained. "There's a coven of twenty or so just outside the city."

"_I'll have to let John and Dean in on that one_," he said to himself. "So, how did you find me?" he asked us as he led us to his quaint little kitchen just off the main entrance.

"We heard through the grape vine that you're one of the best hunters there is."

The corner of his mouth turned up a little, and he shrugged. "I'm a fair hunter. Please, have a seat. I'll make some coffee." "_Best hunter there is? Kinda like the sound o' that, even if it is a load of B.S._"

Abby and I sat down at the white washed table in Bobby's kitchen while he started up a pot of coffee. Once the coffee was on, he joined us. "So, tell me what's goin' on." "_I really hope nothin' followed 'em here. I'm not in the mood to deal with vamps tonight._"

"What do you want to know?" I asked.

"_Don't tell him anything more than the basics_," Abby reminded me with a gently prod.

"_I know, I know_." I took a deep breath and began. "In the ninth grade, we figured out ghosts were real. And that's all we hunted for a while. Then one day, we were at the movies and we found this vampire feeding on some girl behind the theater. We killed it, and life went on. Then we left for Spring Break a week ago, and while we were gone the vampires coven came and murdered our families."

"_Jesus_," Bobby groaned. "_That's tough. So they can't be more'n seventeen or eighteen. They probably want revenge._" "Well, what do you need my help for?" he asked.

"We'd like some more training," I admitted. "One vampire is easy enough, but twenty is a bit of a stretch. Especially if you're new, like we are."

"_Twenty is a stretch for experienced hunters, kid_."

"And we also heard you've got a lot of reliable information that could be helpful," Abby added. "We're willing to pay you."

Bobby gave us a shifty look. "The lore is easy. But the training takes years, and I mean years, to perfect. Most hunters who try to take on that many vamps at one time don't come back." "_This is crazy- a suicide mission_."

My hope sank a little, but I wasn't giving up that easy. I leant across the table and stared into Bobby's blue eyes. "Mr. Singer, please, they killed our families. We can't just let this go."

Bobby contemplated for a long while, considering all the pros and cons of helping out two teenage girls with a vendetta. Finally, he said, "I'll help as much as I can, but I ain't kiddin' about this being dangerous."

"We understand that. In fact, we agree completely. But we can't just sit on our asses and not try to do something about it." Dying didn't scare me or Abby anymore. After all, what did we have to lose besides each other? "When can we start the training?"

"What's today? Saturday? We can start Monday," he said. "Do you want some coffee before you go to bed? I'm assumin' you have nowhere else to go." "_Poor kids_."

Abigail, who hated pity of any kind (and I couldn't blame her), said, "No. It's okay. We'll just go to the motel down the street. We don't want to impose."

"You sure? Got plenty o' room."

As much as I would have loved to sleep in an actual house again, I followed Abigail's lead on this one. Pity wasn't something we took advantage of. We both stood up to leave. "No, it's okay. We'll be just fine for the night. Thank you, Mr. Singer."

"Call me Bobby," he said and stood, too. He led us to the front door and gave us our weapons back. "I'll see you two bright n' early Monday morning."

"Yes, sir," I confirmed. "Oh, and thank you."

"No problem, kid. Here's my number, in case you need me before Monday." He handed me a business card with several numbers on it. "Just try 'em all until I pick up."

"Okay," I smiled. It was the first time I'd smiled since my family had died. "Thank you, Bobby."

As Abby and I were walking back to our car, I heard Bobby think to himself, "_Nice kids. Shame what happened to 'em._"

"_He seemed nice_," I said, making an attempt to get Abby to talk to me. But alas, she was asleep in the passenger seat before I even had a chance to start the engine.

As I was driving to the motel we'd passed on the way into town, I reached out with my mind to see what Abby was dreaming about. I should've know, she was dreaming about her family. Not wanting to pry, I pulled back and just looked at her.

Abby had been my best friend since grade school. I'd always thought she was beautiful with her dark brown hair, wide hazel eyes, olive skin, and small splash of freckles. People thought we were sisters all the time, and still do. Maybe it's because our faces are the same shape, and we have similar noses. Or maybe it's because we're both five-foot-four with medium-sized builds. Either way, I didn't get it.

We pulled into the Sioux Falls Motel parking lot. It was a dingy little motel, just like all the others we'd stayed at on the way to Bobby's. I pulled into a parking space close to the office and got out, leaving Abby asleep. She hadn't slept in a while. Neither had I, but I didn't really need sleep. If I slept, I'd go crazier than if I didn't sleep. The nightmares I had….

Inside the office, there was a little old man working the desk. "Good morning," he smiled brightly and sipped at a large mug of coffee. "_Next time, Tim is working the graveyard shift_."

"Hello," I replied. "I'd like a room with two beds, please."

"Certainly!" he pulled a set of keys out from under the counter. "Room 507."

"Thank you," I said and exchanged the keys for forty five dollars.

"_She's pretty. Wonder if she's into older men_," he mused. "No problem, sweetie. Need anything else?" Well, wasn't he the lively one?

"No, thank you. Just the room," I smiled a little and went back to the car. Abby had woken up and was pulling our luggage out of the back seat. "_Room 507_," I told her.

"_Sounds good to me_," she yawned as I hauled my last suitcase out of the car. "_Do they have weekly rates? We'll be here for a while_."

"_Two hundred a week_," I admitted. She glared over at me. "_It's the only place in town!_"

"_Yeah, well, we're not made of money!_"

"_Maybe we can find jobs…._"

"_Or maybe we can hustle pool_," she bit back. "_We should have stayed with Bobby_."

"_You didn't want to, remember?_" I reminded her and started lugging my things toward the room we were given.

Our room was exactly the same as all the others we'd stayed at. Two beds, small kitchenette, bathroom, and a television. Abby and I would follow our usual ritual. We'd unpack, I'd put my things in the top drawer and Abs would put her belongings in the bottom of the dresser that the TV always perched on. After that we'd do an inventory of all the weapons we had.

Since we hadn't been hunting much other than ghosts, we didn't have many weapons. A bunch of blades, a few things made of iron, a large jar of salt, and our handguns. We kept three magazines for each of the guns, but that was all we had.

I pulled some pajamas from my drawer and slipped them on. Abigail was already passed out on the bed closest to the door. As usual, she had a large blade laid out on the floor next to her. I practiced this habit, too, but I kept mine on the bedside table. Better paranoid than dead. I laid down but, as usual, couldn't sleep. Too many horrific images running through my head. So, I sat up, pulled the Bible out of the drawer from the bedside table, and started reading it. It was just something to do to keep my mind off things. I didn't really take any of it seriously. It's hard to believe in a God who would let creatures like vampires crawl the earth.

"_Did you stay awake all night?_" Abby asked me when she woke up in the morning.

"_No_," I shook my head. I wasn't lying. I'd gotten bored with the Bible and fell asleep for a couple of hours. "_We should get a move on. Bobby's expecting us_."

I got out of my bed, collected my toiletries, and went to take a shower while Abby rustled up some breakfast. The bathroom was, as usual, a matchbox. The room was barely eight feet wide. At least the shower was clean, unlike the one in the last motel we stayed in. I cut the water on and removed my pajamas. I'd lost quite a bit of weight, considering it had only been a week since my family had been murdered.

There were heavy, dark circles under my eyes. My face was paler and thinner than it had ever been. Abby and I used to be 'curvy', but now we'd lost almost five pounds each and counting. Whenever we tried to eat, we either couldn't keep it down or lost our appetite a few bites in. We were starving and we couldn't bring ourselves to eat.

The shower felt wonderful after that long drive and staying up most of the night. I was sad when it was over, but I was eager to get to Bobby's and see what he was going to teach us. "_Gabby_," Abby called out. "_Do you want butter on your toast?_"

"_Sure, if I can eat it_." I started putting my makeup on to cover up how exhausted I was. "_Maybe I should get some sleep. I look like shit_."

"_No, you don't. You just look tired. And sleep would do you good_. _You'd be more alert than you already are._"

I left the bathroom and started pawing through my clothes to see if I had anything that would be okay to get dirty. Eventually, I found an old t-shirt I hadn't worn in ages, some jeans I didn't really care about, and a pair of tennis shoes. "_Today should be warmer than last night, right?_" I wondered as I put my shoes on and strung my hair through a ponytail elastic.

"_It is. It's supposed to be in the high seventies today and a little overcast_."

I took a bite of the toast and immediately wanted to spit it out. Food just didn't taste good anymore. I forced myself to swallow down two pieces of the toast and an apple before I finally gave up on trying to eat. So, I cleaned up the dishes, put the bread and other groceries Abby had bought in the small cabinet above the sink, placed the apples in the fruit bowl on the small table, and washed all the dishes so they would be safe to use. I didn't trust the cleaning ladies after staying at a few of the motels we'd stayed in.

Once Abby was dressed and ready to go, we gathered up all of our weapons and took them back to the car. I popped the trunk and stowed everything in it except for the guns.

"_How much do you think he'll be able to teach us?_" I asked as I drove down the long road that led to Bobby's house.

"_Gabs, he's the best around. He's got a lot of experience. I don't think there's anything he can't teach us_." Although I knew she was right, I still had my doubts.

Finding the main entrance to Bobby's house from the road was a lot easier during the daytime. This way, we didn't have to take the long way through the car lot. His house looked even more run-down during the day than it had at night. The paint was peeling, the porch was bowing in, and the grass needed to be cut.

"_This sure could use some cleaning up_," I said.

We parked in front of the house, got out of the car, and walked up to the door. Abigail knocked, but Bobby didn't answer. An intense, prickly feeling made its way up my spine. I searched for Bobby's thoughts, but none came. "_I've got a bad feeling about this_." Abby's eyes started shifting around.

"_I can't hear his thoughts. He must not be here_."

She touched the doorknob, then the porch, then the gravel of the driveway. "_He's here. Maybe he's just passed out._"

"_Knocked out? Abby, what if something followed us here and took him?!_"

"_Gabrielle, do you honestly think the best hunter in the U.S. would get captured that easily. No. He probably went around back to get some work done and fell asleep_."

"_Okay, we'll check around back but we should definitely go in armed and ready_." She couldn't argue with that. We pulled our guns out, took off the safeties, and slowly started making our way around back.

When we were on the side of the house where the car lot was, I tripped on a rock. All of a sudden, something jumped out at me. I shot at it instinctively, hoping it wasn't Bobby. Abby shot, too. And then I realized it was on a string. It was a dummy made of potato sacks, filled with rice, and painted white.

"_They're pretty good shots_." Bobby had been asleep after all. "Very good," he called out. "For two rookies, that is." We lowered our guns as Bobby walked around the corner. "Did you bring your knives?"

"Naturally," I said. "Was that some kind of test?"

"Just seein' how your reflexes are," he raised his hands in defense. "_Sheesh_." "But your reflexes do you no good if you're using them on the wrong person. From now on, I'll have these things randomly strung up around the place. For every innocent civilian you kill, you have to do an exercise." "_Of course, exercise'll do 'em no good, as scrawny as they are_." "When was the last time you two ate?"

So it was noticeable now. "I had two pieces of toast and an apple for breakfast," I told him. He nodded. Abby just shook her head. "_Tell him_," I resigned.

"I haven't eaten in a couple of days," she admitted.

"_A couple of days? And when did she eat before that? I need to get them into better eating habits, too?_" He stood there, his hands on his hips. "Alright, look, you can be the best hunter in the world, but it'll do you no good if you're starvin'. Come in and I'll fix you some breakfast." When Abby went to argue, he gave her a look that would make Big Foot cower.

He took us inside, made us sit at the table, and made us yet another breakfast…. Pancakes with syrup, beef sausages, eggs with cheese, and coffee with cream and sugar. It all looked very appetizing, but our lack of appetite made it difficult to get anything down. He wouldn't let us leave, however, until we finished everything that was on our plates.

While we were forcing food down our throats, we asked him his plans for us. "Well, the whole time you're here we're going to be working on toughenin' you up. Gotta get some muscle on your bones and all the jazz. We'll do that during the day. At night, I'm gonna fill your heads up with a buncha lore."

"_Yay!_" Abby squealed inside, and a little on the outside too. I, on the other hand, wasn't as excited for this part. Abby was the bookworm and I was the talker. It had always been that way. Right as we were finishing up our food and wolfed down the last dregs of our coffee, the phones started ringing. "That's normal," he said. "One day, I'll have to have you two play my secretaries so I can get some work done around here."

"What do you need done?" I asked him.

"_Everything_," he huffed. "Oh, just some little things. I need to mow the lawn, paint, fix the damn porch."

"Well, we'd hate to blow your cover. Maybe we could do the work on the weekends while you answer the phones."

"_Not a bad idea_." "You ever fixed a porch before?" he asked us.

"I fixed mine with my stepdad, once. It wasn't too hard," Abby tried to smile, but I could tell thinking of her family made her want to cry.

"Well, if you two do good on your training during the week I might just take you up on that offer."

And so it began. Every day that week we would show up at dawn, eat a large breakfast, and then begin our rigorous training. Bobby would have dummies set up all over the house. We'd have to walk around the perimeter, and when they appeared we'd have to either kill them or save them. The first few days it was hard. Every time we killed a 'civilian' we had to do twenty push-ups, twenty jumping jacks, and twenty sit ups. Every time we didn't get the head completely off the monster, we'd have to do thirty push-ups, lift a few weights, and run a mile around the house.

All the exercise brought our appetites back, and our faces began to fill back in. We'd finish our daytime training, eat a huge lunch, and then hit the books. Bobby made that part easy for us. He'd give us all the important information to memorize, quiz us on it the next day, and if we got something wrong he'd make us do more exercises. Once we finished on the books, we'd eat a decent sized dinner and do something a little less rigorous like help him look up lore for his friends or clean up a little.

We'd started training on a Monday. By Friday we'd gained about four pounds in muscle and an impressive amount of vampire lore. Every night, when we'd return to the motel, we'd pass out right after we finished getting ready for bed. I couldn't make myself stay awake; I was too exhausted. On Friday night, as we were starting in on steak, potatoes, and salad, Bobby told us, "Next week, I'll get you started on guns."

"We already know how to shoot," I objected.

"But do you know how to take any gun apart and put it back together?" he raised his eyebrows. I glared at him, but said nothing. He was right, of course. Neither of us knew how to do that. "Didn't think so. Anyway, I've bought paint for you to paint around the house with tomorrow."

"Sounds like a plan."

"_Boy, I really appreciate them doin' this_," he smiled to himself and kept eating.

"It's no problem, Bobby," I replied, and realized only too late that he hadn't said it aloud. Bobby glared at me then looked over at Abby. Abby was terrified.

"_Gabby!_" she screamed.

"_Sorry, sorry!_" I wished I could take it back, but it was too late.

Bobby didn't say anything else during dinner. After dinner, we cleaned the kitchen and I looked up lore on werewolves while Abby put together some brownies for dessert. All the while, we could hear Bobby going through a list of what I could be in his head. "_Nothin' too terribly dangerous… Maybe just psychic or a mind reader. They can't really do much. Either way, they didn't tell me so now I can't really trust any of what they say._"

"_Congrats, Gabby. We may very well have just lost our best shot at getting revenge_," Abby seethed as she mixed the brownie batter.

"_So I slipped up once! Give me a break! If it doesn't happen again, he may just shrug it off_." I was hopeful, but I knew the chances were slim-to-none.

Even though I'd slipped up, Bobby let us continue our usual routine.

During our second week there, a hunter showed up right as Abigail and I were leaving to go back to the motel. We were just about to open the door when someone knocked. Bobby had trained us for this. We readied our guns and poised our knives before I asked, "Who is it?!"

"Bobby!" the person called. "Bobby, you got a girl over?!" It was definitely a man. He sounded older, and black. "_I hope he's willin' to share_." I glanced over at Abby and we both rolled our eyes.

"Who is it?" I called back in a more commanding voice. Bobby was standing behind us, watching, making sure we didn't slip up.

"_Who the hell…?_" the man thought. "Bobby! Open up! It's Rufus!" We looked over at Bobby, who nodded for us to let the man in. When I popped the door open, the man had his gun pointed as well. There was a stare down for a few minutes. I could hear him working out that Bobby was in no danger, that he looked thoroughly amused, and that he should lower his gun. As he did so, we lowered ours. "Bobby, what the hell's goin' on?"

I'd made the right assumption about his looks, aside from a large earring dangling from his ear. Tall, dark, and dressed in plaid like every other hunter ever known to man. What was it with hunters and plaid?

"Rufus, this is Gabrielle and Abigail. They're my hunters-in-training." I was surprised that Bobby was so proud to say that. It made me smile a little, and I hadn't smiled in weeks.

"Bobby," I turned to look at him. "Shouldn't we check him first?"

"Oh, yeah," he piped. "_Completely forgot. Not necessary, but it's good they're suspicious_." "Rufus, they're gonna run a few tests on you before they let you in. You okay with that?" I was surprised Bobby was giving him the option. Did he really know this man that well?

"And if I'm not?" Rufus asked defiantly. "I ain't a test dummy."

"Then they don't let you in," Bobby shrugged. Rufus ultimately agreed to our tests. We put a few drops of holy water on him, sprinkled him with some salt, and made him produce a shallow cut on his arm with a silver knife. "You can let him in now." Abigail and I stepped aside and let Rufus in.

"Gabby, Abby, this is Rufus Turner. He's a good friend of mine. We've gotten each other out of quite a few sticky situations in the past. You might want to stick around to hear what his deal is. What do ya need, Rufus?"

"Uh uh. I ain't spillin' any information to strangers, Bobby."

"That's okay," I smiled. "We'll see you tomorrow, Bobby."

We said our goodnights and went back to the motel. "_He was strange_," Abby said. "_So defensive. I wonder why_."

"_All hunters are suspicious_," I reminded her. "_Especially the older ones. We're only eighteen and we're completely suspicious._"

"_You're right_," she shrugged. "Oh, by the way, great fucking job on screwing up back there!" When Abigail did speak out loud, it was when she was being addressed by someone who didn't know we could talk in our heads or when she was pissed. In this instance, she was pissed enough to speak aloud and to hit me hard enough on the arm to leave a bruise.

"Sorry!" I squealed. "It won't happen again."

"You're damn right it won't!" she seethed and climbed into bed. "If you screw up again and he says something, I'm throwing you under the bus." I knew she was over exaggerating, but she was still angry. I climbed into the bed next to hers, put my knife on the bedside table, and fell asleep almost instantly.

The weekend work that Abigail and I did was a hell of a lot easier than the work we did during the week. Once the house was painted, pressure washed, the porch was fixed, and the grass was cut, Bobby's house looked kind of cute. Subsequently, since the housework was getting done, Bobby could help Rufus with his case better. Rufus was hunting a Rugaru one state over.

Rufus didn't like me or Abigail very much at all. Then again, it didn't seem like he liked anybody, including Bobby. He wouldn't let anyone help with the lore besides Bobby. Even for a hunter, he was extremely suspicious. It was kind of annoying. Either way, I'd be glad when he left.

Ever since I'd slipped up, Bobby was trying to get me to do it again. I'd hear him call out my name in his head in the hopes that I would respond. I was no idiot, however, and I waited for him to call me aloud. I wasn't going to blow my cover and have him try to shoot me. There was too much to be done. And besides that, I liked Bobby Singer. He was generally a good guy who tried to help out his fellow hunters as much as he could.

By the third week of our training, everything was getting a lot easier. On top of our usual routine of 'save the civilian, kill the monster' training, Bobby taught us how to fight with our hands. He also started us on learning about guns, how to make salt-filled shells for shotguns, and how to clean guns.

At this point, our bodies had changed completely. We were so much leaner that our clothes had stopped fitting. A shopping trip was in order, as soon as Bobby taught us how to hustle pool and poker a little better. We had muscles in places we'd never seen before. I'd only ever seen women with muscles like ours in movies. I was completely surprised at how quickly the change had happened. Maybe it was because we did it every single day.

On the fifth day of Rufus' stay, Abby and I were practicing our boxing when he decided to finally go after the Rugaru. Rugarus, as we'd learned, were creatures that lived normal human lives until all of a sudden their appetite spiked until only raw human flesh would satiate their hunger. After they ate their first bit of human flesh, they transformed into a monster. The only way to kill them was to set them ablaze.

"You sure you don't want me to go with ya?" Bobby asked him as he walked him out.

"No, that's alright, Bobby. I can handle one little Rugaru." "_Don't need no damn help_."

"Alright," Bobby shrugged. "Gabby, bend your knees a little more!"

I bent my knees down a little more and said to Abby, "_I hate how rude Rufus is to Bobby, even after Bobby does all this stuff for him_."

"_I know_," she sighed. "_But what can we do? I'm sure that's not the worst he's been treated._"

"_I'm sure it's not, but Rufus is supposed to be his friend_."

"_You don't have friends in this profession, remember?_" she said, quoting Bobby.

I shook my head and took a swing at her, which she blocked perfectly. "_Bobby said he's known Rufus for years. You would think Rufus would treat him better. Especially since Bobby helps him with all that lore._"

"_That's just the way it is, Gabby. Bobby will always be under appreciated. The only thing we can do is appreciate him more than anyone else._"

That part, she was completely right about. We owed Bobby for all the things he was doing for us. I hoped one day, I could return the favor. She swung a hard left at me. I ducked to dodge it and jabbed back, hitting her in the ribs. We weren't hitting hard enough to really hurt each other, but we knew how to.

Vaguely I wondered what my parents would say if they could see me like this, learning to fight. My mother had always hated the idea of fighting. "_What's the point in fighting when you can use your words? You wouldn't want someone to hit you, so why hit them?_"

"_Don't think about it, Gabby_," Abby reminded me.

"What do you mean, he's missing?" We could hear Bobby on the phone from outside. "Dean, have you tried calling him?"

"Yeah, Bobby, I have. I'm going to get Sam and we're going to look for him."

"Sam? Do you think Sam will really go with you? I think he made it pretty clear he wants nothin' to do with the 'family business' anymore. Besides, your daddy don't go missin' unless he don't wanna be found. Either he's hiding from you, or he's dead."

"He's not dead. I'll find him."

"Alright. Keep me posted, I guess." "_I can't let those girls get involved in this_," Bobby thought to himself after he hung up the phone. "_John was goin' after that demon. This could get nasty._"

Abigail and I looked at each other woefully as Bobby came outside, clutching a piece of paper. "_I hate to see 'em leave, but… Missouri'll take care of 'em._"

"What's wrong, Bobby?" I asked him, knowing exactly what he was about to do. What were we going to do? Go off and face the vamps? We weren't ready. We _needed_ Bobby's help.

"You two have gotten real far in the past few weeks. I figure I can't teach ya much more. I'm sendin' you to a friend in Lawrence, Kansas. Her name's Missouri. She can teach you more than I can now." He handed me the slip of paper with the person's address on it.

I glared up at him. "Bobby, we may be young but we're not idiots. What's going on?"

"I know ya ain't. I just have to help someone else now. You two came, you didn't need as much help as many other people. You already had quite a bit of know-how. Missouri can help you with all the stuff I can't. Things are about to get real crazy around here, and I want you two to be able to learn as much as you can before you get pulled into this crap."

"Alright," I sighed. I knew he was being honest with us. "Thank you, Bobby, for all your help."

"No problem. Just sorry I can't keep ya around to do the yard work." I smiled a little. "You keep in touch, ya hear?" Before he had any time to object, Abby and I pulled him into a hug. He hugged us back for a minute before he said, "Alright. Enough with the touchy-feely crap."

We stayed for dinner, at least, before we went back to our motel. Abigail and I packed our things. Our collection of weapons had grown, slightly. We had a shotgun each, with salt shells. We'd added a couple more machetes to our collection, a jar of dead-man's-blood, and holy water…just in case of demons, Bobby said.

I couldn't help but get a bad feeling as we drove away from Sioux Falls. Something in Bobby's head… I knew Abigail had felt it, too. I just hoped that this woman named Missouri would be able to help us like Bobby said she could.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I've always had trouble sleeping in cars. It was always one of those things for me. There was always too much noise or it was too cold or the car was too rickety, but the road to Lawrence was smooth sailing. I was out in no time at all.

I could feel Gabby on the edge of my mind while I slept. Her thoughts were running in and out of my dreams and changing their direction, kind of like when you start to register a song or movie playing in the room when you're deep asleep. My dreams were just regular dreams; there were no dead family members, no monsters, no nightmares. Thank God.

We came to a gas station somewhere near the Kansas-Nebraska border. Gabby's subconscious was seething with complaints about gas prices and night driving. I looked out the window to smile at her furrowed brow and frown. In this lighting, she almost looked like a ghost or a specter. Her skin was more pale, her hair looked as dark as midnight, and her blue eyes were fierce and icy. Her expression softened when she saw that I was awake.

"_Want me to take the wheel for a while?"_ I thought lazily.

"_Only if you promise to drive like a normal human being. I'd rather not die in my sleep off the side of a highway in Bumfuck, Egypt," _Gabby replied in a rather snarky tone.

"_Yeah, yeah I know. Just give me a minute to stretch and pee._" I gathered all of my will power to climb out of the car and walk around for a minute. I found the bathroom, which was seedy at best, and hurried back to the car. Gabby was already sitting shotgun, arms crossed, and waiting.

I didn't say anything as I climbed into the driver's seat and took off into the night. I didn't need to. I knew that Gabby could read the emotions rolling off of me and the thoughts I was thinking, so why bother? I wasn't as good at the whole mind reading thing, but I could feel her mind start to mute and fade into unconsciousness. I took a minute to distance myself from her mind so that I didn't have to be a bystander in her dreams.

The road was dark, and we were surrounded by cornfields. There was absolutely no scenery, no other cars around, and I couldn't turn the radio on. Everything was silent except for the thrum of the engine, and I hated it. For the first hour or so, I was fine. I silently went over all the lore we had learned in my head to try to burn it into my brain. Eventually, I couldn't concentrate on the information anymore. There was nothing around to distract me, nothing to keep me from thinking about what had happened.

Everyone I loved was gone in less than ten minutes. I was never going to eat breakfast with my baby brother and sister again. My mom was never going to take me out to get pasta after a Field Hockey game again. There was no one for me to call and no one to take care of me. Gabby was the only person I had left in this world. My face felt too hot. I wanted to cry.

I bit my tongue and laid into the gas pedal. The faster we got there, the faster I could get my mind off of it. There wasn't a thing that this woman could say or do that wouldn't be a welcome distraction.

I pulled up to Missouri's house at an ungodly hour in the morning. Gabby was still asleep in the passenger seat, and I'd be willing to bet money that Missouri was out cold too. The only reasonable course of action would be to wait until dawn or at least a more appropriate hour, so I grabbed a flashlight and a book out of the trunk and set to work.

It took two hours, or nine chapters, until the edges of the sky started to turn pink. Gabby woke up several times either from a nightmare or from the way her neck was crammed in between the seat and the window. She didn't say much. She mostly tossed and turned and wiped the cold sweat from her forehead before going back to sleep.

I was musing about the actual existence of shape shifters when I was startled by a loud rapping sound. I nearly jumped out of my skin at the intrusion, but Gabby didn't move an inch. My head snapped to the sound of the knocking, where I saw a plump, African-American lady standing next to my window gesturing for me to get out of the car.

"_Nearly scared me half to death….sitting in the car all out in the open like this like they haven't got a lick of sense….goodness, she's just a baby of a girl…" _were the thoughts radiating off of her. Her mind was too fast and foreign to really get a hold on her inner monologue.

"My name is Missouri, but you already knew that. I'm sure you two are Abigail and Gabrielle, correct?" she asked and I nodded quickly. My adrenaline was still pumping. "How about you wake your friend up and come inside before you catch a cold out here?" She started to retreat back to her house while I shook Gabby awake.

"_Grab your bag. We're going inside,_" I thought as she mumbled out confused questions and muted protests. I threw her the backpack with her things, and she groaned as she slipped out of the car. Missouri was waiting for us with the door open as we walked quickly up the sidewalk and into her house.

"Come with me," she said, sighing in either resignation or annoyance. I'm not sure which one it was. Her thoughts were running more like "_little slip of a thing…middle of the night…don't know how much I can do with 'em…"_ I'm sure Gabby was getting the full gist of it, but I was too tired to try.

"This is my only guest bedroom. You two can fight over who's sleeping where. It's no never mind to me," Missouri said once we reached our destination. We both smiled and mumbled out our appreciation. She gave us a small smile and returned to her bedroom.

Gabby and I didn't talk as we slipped out of our shoes and clothes and into more comfortable things to sleep in. It was only a twin bed, but we still decided to share it. I set my knife on the ground next to the bed and settled in. I was asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow, but I'd be surprised if Gabby went to sleep at all.

When I woke up, I was alone. A hand to Gabby's pillow sent images flitting through my mind. Gabby had sat up not too long ago. She had drug a hand across her face and looked at me before padding out of the room. She had found her way downstairs and seen Missouri, and shortly after, she started chowing down on the source of the delicious smell that was wafting up to our room.

I grunted and tried to stretch some of the sleep out of my joints, but I was tired all the way down to my bones. I laid in bed for a few minutes silently debating whether or not I should get up and eat or catch some more sleep. Food won this time.

I found the kitchen quickly, but Missouri wasn't there. It was just Gabby, who was nursing a cup of coffee. She was still in her mix-match pajamas with her dark hair done up in a bun and her eyes droopy with fatigue. It was strange to see her undone; she put such store in her physical appearance.

"Morning, Sleeping Beauty," she smiled. I shook my head, found a plate, and promptly started shoveling eggs and bacon onto it. She wrinkled her nose at the amount of strips I was piling onto my plate.

"_You can boycott pork all you want, but that's not going to stop me,_" I thought wistfully.

"You're going to clog an artery," Gabby replied dismissively. She thinks pigs are cute, so she doesn't eat pork. That logic doesn't make sense in my books, but I guess her diet is her business. We sat in silence while I ate.

"_I wonder where Missouri could be," _I thought to myself after another scan of the surrounding area. Gabrielle heard me, of course.

"_She said she was with a client," _she replied. I raised my eyebrows in question, but she just shrugged. I went back to my breakfast, happy to wait for her to be done with whatever it is she's supposed to be doing. It wasn't long before she wandered back into the kitchen.

"Good, you're both up," Missouri said when she spotted us at the table, "Sleep well, Abigail?"

"Yeah. Thanks for breakfast," I replied with a smile. My voice was gravelly from sleep and lack of use. I knew the mumbling and the cracks were unattractive, but I loathed verbal communication.

"That's all fine and good, dear, but you mumble in your head too," Missouri said as she poured herself a cup of coffee. I was startled to the point where I ended up choking on my eggs as Gabby laughed hysterically from across the table.

"That'll be lesson number one for you, Abby. As for you," she said while pointing a finger at Gabby. "You need to turn it down about five notches." That got the laughter to die off.

"You're psychic." I wasn't sure if that was a question or a statement coming from me.

"Yes. Why do you think Bobby sent you to me? You two need some training up in a department he can't even begin to fathom."

"Bobby…Bobby knew?" Gabrielle asked incredulously. I rolled my eyes. It's no one's fault but hers. Maybe he would've figured it out even if she hadn't blown our cover.

"That man doesn't miss a thing, and neither do I for that matter. So don't try to pull anything cute on me. I run a tight ship. You understand?" Missouri replied. Gabby and I exchanged a what-the-hell-have-we-gotten-into look.

"Yes ma'am," we said in unison.

"_What the hell _have _we gotten into?" _I thought to Gabby as we were pulling weeds out of Missouri's garden. She had been teaching us everything she knew about psychic abilities, but it didn't come free. Missouri had us doing every dirty job she could think of to spare herself the trouble. I would complain more, but she was feeding us, sheltering us, and teaching us things I hadn't even known were possible.

I had been awfully smug the first two weeks because Gabby hadn't even been allowed to start lessons. Missouri said she needed to check all that anger before she started building up psychic strength. While I was learning how to put up walls around my thoughts and how to break down other peoples' walls, Gabby was sitting cross-legged doing breathing exercises or something else 'just as stupid'.

Gabby really resented being left out, but Missouri basically told her to get over it. I had to admit that she became a more amiable person once she started looking at things rationally and unemotionally.

"You're like a hurricane," Missouri had said to her when we first started, "A little hot air, and you're all worked up into a whirlwind of rain and wind and wrath. You need to be less destructive."

I had a two and a half week head start on Gabby when it came to training, but she came back with a vengeance. She worked twice as hard as I did to try and catch up. Naturally, it became a competition. Who could read minds the quickest? Who could lift the heaviest object with their mind? Who could read objects the most thoroughly? Who could track the furthest and the fastest? Every day was the psychic Olympics at Missouri's.

She tried a million times to tell us not to push ourselves too hard, but we never listened. There was barely a day that went by in the past few weeks that one of us didn't have a nosebleed or a migraine. Gabby actually passed out a few days ago trying to lift a giant boulder at the park, so we've been trying to tone it down.

We honestly haven't been staying at Missouri's for very long, but we've made incredible strides in our abilities. In just a few weeks' time, we've learned the ins-and-outs of the whole business. We also learned that each of us is better at different things. Gabby can read minds in a snap, but I have more trouble. I can retrace her exact steps through a whole day she's spent away from me just by touching something she touched before she left, but she can only get vague notions on me.

All of the competition, strength-building, and deep-breathing brought us right to Missouri's flower garden, where Gabby is shaking her head at me and smiling. Her nose and ears are red with cold, and her gloves are stained with dirt and grass, but she hasn't complained. My whole face felt chapped and raw, and I could barely feel my fingers through the gloves so I know she must've been uncomfortable. I know I've been huffing and puffing the entire time, but I can't help it. It's boring. I wasn't made for manual labor.

"_We're about done. How about you go inside and take a nap?" _she offered silently. I was hoping to break her down using my inner monologue, and I guess it worked.

"_That sounds wonderful." _ I thought back, sighing audibly in relief. I left her to her own devices and went inside. I took off my jacket and toed out of my shoes while relishing the heat coming out of the radiators. I decided to try and sleep on the couch because walking upstairs was way too much work.

I laid there for a while before I slipped off to sleep. I couldn't get my mind to stop buzzing. When sleep did come, my dreams were bizarre. I was at a carnival with my family, but I couldn't speak. I kept trying to shout out to them not to ride the Ferris wheel because it wasn't safe, but nothing came out. I was mute and useless, and they were going to die all over again. But then the dream changed. There were two boys: one was tall, outrageously tall, with goofy looking hair and soft eyes. The other was a well built, wearing a too-big leather jacket and a too-serious look on his face. Family? Brothers.

Missouri was in there too, whispering some nonsense about demons and monsters and destiny to a man who doesn't want to believe it. There's a God-awful bell sounding somewhere. Is that a doorbell? There's a beautiful blonde woman there too, but she's dead. She's burning, but there's nothing I can do. I can feel the warmth of the flames on my face. I can feel-.

"_Abby!_" Gabrielle called me into consciousness. I sat up too quickly. My heart was racing, my chest was heaving, and my face still felt hot. I felt like I was going to cry.

"Missouri has company. If you want to sleep you should go upstairs," she said while hauling me to my feet. There was a man standing in the doorway. He was tall, white, middle-aged, and rather grizzly in appearance. I recognized him as the man from my dream. Except now I know it wasn't a dream. He had to have been a hunter, unless I was reading someone else's mind in my sleep. The flannel was a dead giveaway too.

I nodded mutely and snatched my blanket up from the couch. I mumbled out something like an apology, and Gabby gave me a weird look.

"Abby and Gabby? You two twins?" the man asked in an amused tone.

"No," Gabby said with a laugh. "But we get that a lot."

"What are you two doing staying with Missouri? I can't imagine you're distant relatives."

"We were in a tight spot, and she was kind enough to help us out," Gabby replied vaguely. I wanted to slink off into another room, but his eyes were on me every other second. Maybe he expected me to speak or show signs of life. That wasn't about to happen.

"Abigail, this is John Winchester. Mr. Winchester, this is our resident narcoleptic. Missouri just went up to the store really quick. She should be back any second. I guess you can wait wherever," Gabby offered, gesturing around herself rather lamely. He nodded in his amused, knowing way and sat down on the vacated couch. Gabby and I retreated to the kitchen, but on the way there I decided to pick his brain a bit. It wouldn't hurt to just see what's on his mind.

"_…weird…not like her to take in strangers...trying not to be seen…"_ were the vague thoughts I snatched up along with a few images: a plain looking house with a big tree in the front yard, a younger, more grave looking Missouri, and the face of a miserable young man. Not John, but a brother maybe? Son. It was his son.

"_Whatever happened to privacy?_" Gabby projected to me and raised her eyebrows.

"_Oh please, you probably already know his favorite food and social security number." _

"_Hardly, but I'll take that as a compliment." _

"_What do you suppose he's here for? It's definitely not for a reading…" _I wondered. It wasn't necessarily directed towards anybody, but Gabby just shrugged.

"_I guess we'll find out."_

After about an hour, and three or four strained attempts at hospitality, we spotted Missouri's car returning from the store. Gabrielle and I went outside to help here bring stuff inside with a feeling of relief. It was always awkward when clients or friends came over when she wasn't around.

"Thank you girls, that's awfully kind of…John Winchester is sitting in my living room?" Missouri had started out sweet and ended in a rather harsh tone.

"Y-yes. He said he was a friend of yours. His head checked out," Gabby replied hesitantly.

"Goodness gracious, I haven't seen John in years. I thought he might've died." Missouri shook her head as she handed us her heavier grocery bags. "_And took those boys down with him…"_ she thought sadly.

"He seemed decent to me. I wouldn't have let him in otherwise," Gabby mumbled.

"I know, dear. Get all these groceries inside. I'm going to go see what that devil wants." Missouri patted her back and left us. We gathered up the groceries and went inside. There was no telling how long Missouri would be, so Gabby and I decided to put them away, too. There was an unspoken agreement between us to make as little noise as possible so we could eavesdrop. It was so hard to hear them from down the hall that we barely caught the gist of the conversation.

"…the old house…don't know how they found out so fast…can't let them know I'm here…" John's whispers drifted out from the living room.

"…I haven't felt anything strange around there recently…so that's what you came here for…can't hide forever, sweetheart..." Missouri's voice was louder than his, and it was dripping with sass and something akin to pity.

I could almost smell his guilt and fear from where I stood while putting Cheerios into one of Missouri's cabinets. What could he be hiding? Who was he hiding from? I really hoped Missouri would do some explaining soon.

"Curiosity killed the cat you know," Gabby said rather condescendingly and startled me, "Where does she keep the soup anyway?"

"They go into the cabinet under the silverware drawer." I replied begrudgingly. We put the rest of the groceries up in a pregnant silence. They were a little too quiet down the hall, so I reached out with my mind. Missouri must have put some walls up because I couldn't hear a thing, verbal or mental, from the room they were sitting in.

I couldn't help but wonder what they had to hide. I looked at Gabby, but she just shrugged.

"Oof," the air rushed out of my lungs as Gabrielle swept my legs out from under me. We gave up trying to spy on Missouri's visitor and went out back to spar a little. The frozen winter ground was merciless on my back, and I'm sure there were grass and dirt stains all over my jacket.

"Come on, get up," Gabby said, hopping from foot to foot in anticipation.

"No, no. It feels like you damaged some sort of important vertebrate. I think I'll just lay here for a minute," I gasped out. She rolled her eyes dramatically.

"I don't think you can be that sarcastic with a broken back, Abby."

"I think you underestimate my power," I grunted as I got to my feet. I dodged a quick one-two that Gabby aimed at my face.

"Can you not?" I said in a thoroughly annoyed tone, but she just shrugged and smiled.

"I'm just trying to keep you on your toes. You're so lazy," she said as she eyed me, brushing the dead grass from my jacket. It was my turn to roll my eyes, but I was cut off from a witty remark by Missouri's entrance outside.

"Would you two quit trying to kill each other and get in here? We've got some stuff we need to talk about," she called out to us.

"_Oh, so now we're allowed in on the top secret meeting?" _Gabby thought to herself.

"Don't get smart with me, girl. This is important," Missouri quipped. She was holding something in her hand that she was waving threateningly. Once we got close enough, I could see that it was a wooden spoon. Gabby watched it cautiously as we walked in through the back door.

John was sitting on the couch smiling quietly at Missouri's mother-hen behavior. I wanted to reach out and see what was going through his head, but I didn't want to risk Missouri getting pissed. She could sense my apprehension of course.

"No more secrets; they wear me out. It's time we get some things straight," she said, straight to the point as usual.

"John here is a hunter, and he's after the monster that killed his wife. I helped him out years ago when it first happened. I told him the whole, ugly truth the same way that Bobby told you. He's been after this thing for almost thirty years, and he's closing in on it. He asked if he could stay here to hide out for a while, and I said yes. There _are _a few conditions. Under no circumstances whatsoever are you to mention that he's here." Gabby and I shared a confused look. That wasn't exactly what I was expecting.

"I don't care who's asking, and I don't care what they say. I don't care if it's his mother, brother, father, sister, son, or daughter that comes to the door. This whole thing is bigger than you, bigger than me, and definitely none of _your_ business," she continued and waved a finger at us. "Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Yes ma'am," we muttered in unison.

"Good," she smiled. "Now you two can run off and get all black and blue if you want to. Dinner is at 7." Without another word or backward glance, she returned to the kitchen. So now it was just John, Gabby, and me, and I was so uncomfortable.

"You want to go back outside?" Gabby asked a little too eagerly. I rolled my eyes and plopped down on the couch.

"Alright, fine, but I won right?" she continued with a smile and her eyebrows raised. I picked up whatever book was on the coffee table and started reading. It was the bible. Shit. Whatever, maybe it would be an interesting read.

"I won," she said smugly, and then left the room with one fist in the air.

"_Where are you going?_" I thought to her. I didn't want to be alone in here with him.

"_Winner needs a victory snack,_" she replied with exaggerated cockiness. I huffed but continued reading. Genesis always bored me so I just skipped to the good stuff: Revelations. There's nothing like a little fire and brimstone.

I got through a good portion of it, even with Gabby sitting on the arm of the couch and peaking over my shoulder. She kept sighing dramatically to try and get my attention so I pinched the soft underside of her arm. She shut up after that.

Dinner was awkward. Missouri and Gabby and John made small talk for a while before they launched into Our story. I asked if we could not talk about it while I'm eating, but the truth is that I didn't want to talk about it at all. Gabby ignored my request like I expected her to. She kept the story short and didn't give away too many details, but I still hated it. I half-expected John to tell us his story in return, but all he offered was condolences for our families.

There were a lot of images I picked up and a lot of private thoughts I walked in on while he was listening to Gabby prattle about our sob story. I saw his late wife burning on the ceiling and his two sons in a myriad of different motel rooms. I saw the monsters he'd hunted and the mistakes he'd made looking for this thing, this demon. I already knew his story, but it still bothered me that he hadn't actually told me a word of it. It bothered me that he didn't trust us. I guess that's just part of the trade though. It seemed like the only things you need to be a hunter are secrets and flannel. Gabby did a spit-take when I reached that part of my inner monologue.

"Alright you two, we need to talk." Missouri confronted me and Gabrielle after dinner. I couldn't imagine what we might have done wrong, but I hoped she didn't believe in corporal punishment.

"We're all ears, Missouri. Is it about John?" Gabby asked cautiously.

"No, honey, it's about the both of you," Missouri replied soothingly. "I got something in the mail today from Bobby." She handed me a manila envelope, and I knew what was in it before I broke the seal: leads. I could see Bobby writing out notes and clipping newspapers as I fumbled to open the package.

"Are these…?" Gabby whispered. I could feel the anticipation coiling in her gut as she read the documents over my shoulder.

"They sure are," Missouri assured her. "I know that leads don't stay fresh for long, and I think you're both ready. There's still a lot of room for improvement for the two of you, but there isn't much more I can actually teach you."

I wasn't honestly sure if I believed her. We were still so young and inexperienced. I could feel how excited Gabby was; her stomach was churning with all that naïve eagerness and vengefulness she'd carried around with her for her whole life. One way or another, I wanted these bastards dead, but I was scared of dying myself.

"Great! When can we leave?" Gabby beamed.

"You act like I'm keeping you here against your will. You're both grown enough to decide for yourself what to do with your lives." Missouri shook her head.

"How about we head out the day after tomorrow?" Gabby asked me as if I had a chance at talking her out of anything once she put her mind to it. I nodded and tried to give her a reassuring smile, but it came out more like a grimace.

"How about you try not to look so chipper while you're talking about killing things, Gabby? It's slightly unsettling." Missouri chided and sat down on the couch. The look on her face didn't portray a whole lot of confidence in us, but there was no going back now. How could we, when we're so close?

"Right, sorry," Gabby said and tried to make her expression more neutral. "Well, I guess this means that we need to do some shopping and packing then, huh? We need to stock up on salt and ammunition and probably long-john's too because some of these leads are in pretty cold areas. I wonder if we'll be able to fit it all in the car, even with all the changes we made to it."

"It's already late. We can start first thing tomorrow," I yawned and stretched out my arms. Gabby rolled her eyes, but she stopped rambling, and that's the only thing that mattered right now.

"Yes, we're starting _first _thing. That means no sleeping in, Abigail. We have a lot of work to do if we want to keep up with these tips," she quipped. I nodded in a rather resigned sort of way, thanked Missouri, and slipped off to bed.

It was a while before Gabby came up to bed, and her mind was whirling with stories John had told her about hunts he'd been on and the details Bobby had given us on our own vamp mission. She took her sweet time getting ready for bed as always. I'd never met another person, girl or boy, who spent as much time getting ready for bed as they did getting ready in the morning.

After her teeth-brushing, face-washing, and general maintenance was done, she got into the bed next to me. For what felt like an eternity, we laid there together. I was almost convinced she had fallen asleep before I heard, "I'm scared too you know."

It was barely a whisper, but I still caught it. My hand snaked under the sheets until it found hers, and I gave her fingers a tight squeeze.

"_No matter what happens, we're in this together,_" I thought reassuringly. She squeezed my hand back.

"_I know," _she thought back. Without another word or thought, she settled into the bed as best she could, and we slowly drifted off to sleep. Maybe if it was two normal girls, they would have had a heart-to-heart. Maybe they would've needed more support and comfort and made promises they couldn't keep. Maybe they would've cried in relief or fear, but we've never been normal girls. That brief exchange was all that was necessary.

Around noon the next day, Gabby and I were taking a break from packing. I ushered a few clients into Missouri's reading room and was currently reading the packet that Bobby sent us whilst Gabby was throwing peanut M &M's into the air and trying to catch them with her mouth. She wasn't very good at it. The individual pieces kept bouncing off of her cheeks and chin and clattering to the floor. Sometimes she didn't get it anywhere near her head.

"I hope you're going to clean those up," I muttered after about five minutes. It was getting harder and harder to concentrate on the papers.

"Duh," she said after she finished chewing the ones she had actually gotten into her mouth. I gave her my best leveling look, which she countered by 'accidentally' throwing one of the M&M's at my head once I had turned back to the papers.

"_Don't encourage her by reacting," _I thought to myself. I was one hundred percent certain she was about to throw another one at me when the doorbell rang.

"_I'll get it,_" I thought to her. I begrudgingly got out of my chair, walked up to front door, and checked out of the peep hole. I'm not sure who I was expecting, but this wasn't it. I knew from the minute I saw that they were John's boys. I heard the soft creak of the couch as Gabby headed upstairs to tip him off.

"_…been so long since he's been here…might not even remember…" _The shorter one was doubtful and even belligerent.

"_There has to be some sort of lead here. She's psychic; she has to know something." _The taller of the two had thoughts that were loud and clear and, admittedly, tinged with desperation.

"Can I help you?" I asked once I had opened the door.

"Hi, I'm Dean, and this is my brother Sam. We were looking to get a reading done," the shorter one said, looking inside through the doorway in confusion. "_…too young to be the right girl...little old to be living at home still…"_

"Is your mom home?" he asked, still scanning the front hall and parlor.

"Do you have an appointment?" It was my turn to be belligerent. They both shook their heads.

"We literally just read about this place fifteen minutes ago. We think Missouri might be able to help us out. It's important." Sam said, hands on his hips.

"C'mon," I beckoned them inside, "It'll have to wait until she's done with the reading she's working on right now." They followed me into the sitting room where Gabby had resumed her former activity.

"You know, I think the point of that game is to get those in your mouth," I sighed as another M&M rolled into a dusty corner of the room.

"You think this is a game?" Gabby deadpanned. We both stared at each other for a moment in fake consternation, but she was the first one to crack a smile. I couldn't help but laugh too. Fortunately, she put down the bag of chocolates after that. Unfortunately, it was only to try to make conversation.

"Who are these fine gentlemen?" she asked, addressing them more than me.

"I'm Sam, and this is Dean."

"I'm Gabrielle, and this is Abigail. I doubt she bothered with introductions," Gabby chided while I started picking up the forgotten M&M's. Missouri would have her head if she came out here and found these.

"Abby and Gabby? No offense, but that sounds kind of like a cheap porno." Dean smiled at his own joke. Sam's face went from a welcoming smile to a look of disdain and reproach in less than a nanosecond as he turned to look at his brother.

"_What an astute observation." _I thought, rolling my eyes.

"We get that a lot," Gabby admitted. She wasn't exactly amused either.

There were a few moments of uncomfortable silence while I was cleaning up Gabby's mess and Sam was huffing at his brother.

"Alright then," Missouri reassured her client, patting him on the back as she walked him to the door, "Don't you worry about a thing. Your wife is crazy about you."

He mumbled out his thanks and left. When she closed the door, Missouri dropped the act.

"Poor bastard! His woman is cold bangin' the gardener."

"Why didn't you tell him?" Dean asked. He seemed torn between amused and confused.

"People don't come here for the truth. They come for good news." Sam and Dean looked at each other, officially confused.

"Well, Sam and Dean, come on already. I ain't got all day." She motioned for them to follow her into her reading room. They both got up quickly. Sam had to duck under the beads she had in the doorway. Gabby and I snickered at their cluelessness while their thoughts came streaming in.

"_…goofy looking kid?...I haven't met a girl I couldn't get to fall in love with me…who does she think she is?" _Dean thought to himself while Sam chuckled.

"_Think we should give them some privacy?" _I asked Gabby silently. It was more of a suggestion than an actual question, but she shot me a wicked grin and shook her head.

"_We have packing to do, 007," _I thought as I headed up the stairs. She followed me in a few minutes and gave me the details on the conversation. They are looking for their Dad, no shocker there, and they think that there is something supernatural in their old house. She also found out that Sam's late girlfriend died the same way their mom had: burning on the ceiling.

I could feel the furrow deepening in my brow as she relayed all the information. I couldn't imagine having two people you love killed in such a violent and unusual fashion. What kind of monster waits decades before it strikes a family again? Something was awfully suspicious about all of this.

Gabby and I finished our preparations in silence for an hour or two. She was cleaning the few guns we had and packing them away, and I was taking inventory of everything and making sure it was organized. I don't mind clutter, but right now I mean business. There isn't a whole lot of room for error.

_"_Where are we going to get Dead Man's Blood?" Gabby asked the question that had been plaguing me for a while now. I shrugged. I was honestly at a complete loss. Were we supposed to rob a funeral home? A hospital? An armored Red Cross truck?

"_We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," _I thought noncommittally. My answer didn't seem to satisfy her, but she moved on to packing our clothes none the less.

Around ten o'clock the next day the car was packed and ready to go, and so were we. Missouri was insisting we take some several containers of homemade casserole and large jugs of water with us while John watched amusedly from the couch.

"Don't give me that look, Abigail. I'll smack you all six ways to Sunday," Missouri threatened. Gabby chuckled under her breath, so I gave her a nasty look.

"I'm not afraid to hit you too, Gabby. Now go make sure you grabbed everything while I put this stuff in the car."

Missouri was still fiddling around in the trunk when we both met up again in the sitting room.

"Find anything?" Gabby asked as I was coming back down the stairs. I shook my head. "Yeah, me neither. I guess it's time to go then."

She was all smiles and nerves, and I wished I could work myself up to be that excited. I was more scared than anything. Gabby gave me a reassuring look before John cleared his throat to get our attention.

"I wanted to thank you two for keeping my being here a secret," he said as he stood up, "So, I got you a little something." He pulled a mason jar from beside the couch, and my stomach lurched.

"_Is that jam? Is this some sort of Midwestern custom?_" Gabby thought.

"_That's blood. That's Dead Man's Blood," _I thought back. Her discomfort wasn't quite as intense as mine.

"I heard you two talking…well, I heard Gabby talking, and I figured this would help you out. Don't tell Missouri. If she doesn't already know, she'll be upset when she finds out where I got it from." He laughed quietly as he handed Gabby the jar. She slipped it into one of our bags before Missouri could walk in and catch us with it.

"Thanks," Gabby beamed, and I mumbled out something about my own gratitude.

"No problem, kid," John said as he shook her hand. "And you too, Silent Bob." I eyed his hand before I actually shook it.

He meandered off to some other area of the house while we lugged the rest of our things to the car. Missouri was standing there looking at us with a sort of sad pride.

"Don't go off getting yourselves killed," she chided.

"We won't," Gabby and I said in unison.

"Don't be afraid to come visit me either, you hear?"

"We'll come back and visit, don't worry." Gabby gave her a hug before opening the door and settling into the driver's seat.

"Thank you," I began. "…for everything." I finished rather lamely, but she smiled at me anyway. She smoothed down my hair and gave me a pat on the cheek. I squeezed her hand before opening my door and sliding into the car.

Gabby started the car and drove off. I could see Missouri in the side view mirror. I could just barely make out her shaking her head before she turned to go back inside. She was almost to her front door when we turned the corner, and then she was lost from my view.

"So where are we heading first?" Gabby screamed over the radio, turning away from the road for a second to look at me.

"East. Sheboygan, Wisconsin." I replied.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"God damn it, Abby! Watch your blood splatter!" I cried as the blood of the vampire Abigail had just killed splashed across my new sneakers. I knew I shouldn't have worn them. Another vampire started coming at me from behind. I spun around and lobbed her head off in one quick, clean swipe.

"Sorry! Maybe you shouldn't wear new shoes on a hunt!" she yelled back as she got stuck between two other vamps that were twice her size. I was free, so I sent my knife sailing at one of them. It took the head off of the one behind her so she could focus on the one in front of her. I had the blade boomerang back so I could take on one of the only ones that remained.

She was tiny and blond. She couldn't have been more than sixteen when she was turned. I remembered her. She'd been there when my family was slaughtered. I took absolutely no time in killing her. Her head rolled off of her shoulders and onto the ground by my feet just as Abby killed the one she'd been wrestling with.

"That was the last one," I said.

In the months since we'd left Missouri's house in Lawrence, we'd gotten better at hunting. In between finding and killing the vampires we were hunting, we did odd jobs that included getting rid of vengeful spirits, snuffing out a couple of shape shifters, and even exorcising one or two demons. It was amazing how much we were able to do after Missouri taught us how to refine our psychic skills.

"_Let's get this mess cleaned up_," Abby smiled. We were so close to killing the last few vampires we were hunting. I started up a fire to burn the bodies and helped Abby lug them all into the flames.

As we watched them burn, I wondered vaguely what we would do after this was all said and done. Going back to a normal life and readjusting would be too difficult. Would we continue to hunt things that went bump in the night? Or would we just keep moving, go places, see things? "_You ready to go?_"

"_Yeah_," I nodded. I picked up my blade and put the fire out once I was sure the bodies were destroyed. I didn't want the warehouse they'd been hiding in to catch on fire. It would call too much attention to us.

The knife I'd brought with me was about twenty five inches long, made of steel, and was easy to swing around telekinetically. It was my vampire-hunting weapon of choice. Abigail's favorite weapon was a heavier antique sword that looked very similar to a Samurai sword. It was nice, but it wouldn't have been my first choice.

Once everything was cleaned up, we headed back out to the car. I listened for a minute, just double checking to make sure we didn't miss any vampires who were hiding. The silence meant we were all clear. We slid into the Challenger and drove away. "_Only one coven left_," I reminded her. "_Where to next_?"

"_Bobby said there have been some signs cropping up just outside of Chicago. Might be the ones we're looking for…_"

We were both thinking the same thing. Since we'd left Illinois for Bobby's house, we hadn't been back. Had anything changed in the year and some months we'd been gone? We had changed so much as individuals. It would be strange to go home and have everything be exactly the way it was when we left it. And we were, of course, thinking about how to take our revenge out on the leaders of the vampires who had killed our families. I was opting for torture, but Abby wanted it over quickly.

So far, we'd killed all but three of the vampires who had been present when our families were killed. Incidentally, these vampires were the ones in charge. They had to know by now that we were coming. They'd been bouncing around all of the mid-western states for some time now. We'd catch up with them eventually. There was no hiding from us now that our abilities were honed. I could hear thoughts from miles away, and Abby could track someone's actions as far back as a year if she wanted to. Not to mention that individually we could move things that weighed over a ton without lifting a finger. Imagine what we could do together.

"_Let's get something to eat. I'm starving_."

"_Me, too_," I agreed. After all that hard work, a steak sounded spectacular. We only ever ate out after a successful vampire hunt. Other than that, we usually picked a motel to stay at and made our own food. It was cheaper that way.

I drove into the next town and we stopped at a local steakhouse. Abby and I both ordered steaks, but she got fries and I got a baked potato. "_So, how long do you think it'll take us to get from here to Illinois?_" 'Here' was a pokey little town in North Carolina.

"_About twelve hours_," I replied. "_We'll have to start by getting onto I-40, and then we'll just have to follow the map. I'll need you awake for this one, so we'll leave first thing tomorrow morning._"

"_Right_," she smiled. "I _can't believe this is almost over. Can you?_"

"_No. I just wish it changed what happened. Nothing we do is going to bring them back._"

"_You're right. But they would have been proud of us, Gabby_."

"_I know they would_." I wanted to stop talking about it, so she pulled her mental feelers away and left me with a little privacy. The waitress brought our food, and we ate in silence. I was really starting to feel the day weigh on my shoulders. Fighting was easy…until your muscles started to ache later.

By the time we found a motel and got settled in, my muscles were screaming. Most of the vamps had been bigger than me, so I'd pulled several muscles by trying to physically push them off of me. Apparently Abby had, too, because she moaned in pain every time she moved around in her sleep that night. I, however, didn't sleep much at all. I called Missouri from the motel phone to let her know we were alright, and to tell her where we were going next. She wished us the best of luck and told us to be as careful as we could.

"These vampires will be a lot stronger than the previous ones, I'm sure. Just be careful, sweet pea. You get some sleep. You sound exhausted."

"I will," I yawned. "Night, Missouri."

"Good night, dear."

I awoke the next morning to the screeching of the phone. "Hello?" I demanded.

"Good morning! This is the wakeup call you asked for!"

"Oh, okay. Thanks." I slammed the phone back down on the receiver and forced myself into a sitting position. "_Abby, wake up_."

"_Five more minutes_," she groaned and rolled over. "_Go take a shower, then wake me up_."

"Fine." I went into the bathroom and started the shower up. All of a sudden, I started to feel dizzy. And then I was looking down at a gun. It was an antique Colt with a bunch of inscriptions. I saw Sam and Dean through John's eyes. They were shocked because what they were looking at was a gun that could kill anything from ghosts to vampires to demons.

I was back in the bathroom, lying on the floor. I suppose I'd lost consciousness of my own body while I was inside John's mind. Why had I seen that? I didn't _need_ a gun like that with my abilities. What was the point of showing me that? I shook it off and got in the shower.

Abigail was finally dressed and ready to roll around seven, but I could tell she still needed coffee. Luckily, the motel we were at served free breakfast, so she was one-hundred percent by seven fifteen.

The entire drive to Illinois, the vision of John Winchester and his sons ate at me. I still didn't understand the purpose of me knowing that the Colt from the legends actually existed. We still had no use for it. Had I just picked up on John's thoughts without realizing it?

"_You okay?_" Abby asked me when we stopped for gas at the halfway point. I showed her what I saw, and she didn't look surprised. "_You're probably just picking up on it. I don't think there's any real reason_."

"_You're probably right_." I sighed.

"_You want me to take over? You've been driving for a long time_."

"_No, it's fine. I'm not as good at reading the map as you are_."

"_You mean I'm not as good at driving as you are_," she joked.

"_You're damn right. I'd rather we get there in one piece_." We both laughed and walked into the gas station to pick up some lunch. I grabbed chips, two waters, a pack of Go-Gurt, and two turkey subs from the refrigerators while Abby picked up some of the necessary toiletries we were running low on. And then we hit the road again.

"_Are we almost there?_" I asked when it started getting dark. "_What does the map say?_"

"_Yeah, we're about an hour away._"

I felt a spike in my pulse. "_We're going to finish this, Abby. Tonight._" The world would finally be rid of the monsters who took the lives of my sisters, my parents, and Abby's family too. Every single last one of the bastards responsible would be dead. It had taken a year, but it was worth it.

This was sinking in with Abigail, too. Her mind was racing. "_How are we going to do this? I want it to be over quick. What are we going to do? I can't believe it's almost over_." I was there with her on that. A year's worth of hard, hard work all led up to this. What were we going to do?

I knew, now that I'd slept on the idea, that I was going to keep hunting. I hoped Abby would stay with me, but I would understand if she didn't want to. She was the smart one in high school. She could go back, go to college, find a different career. Hunting was the only thing I was good at anymore. I used to be good at so many things, but now I'd forgotten how to do them.

"_I'm hungry_," Abby said just as we were pulling into the Chicago city limits, so I pulled into a burger joint I used to go to with my dad after a Cubs game. Nothing seemed to have changed, except us. And that's what I was afraid of.

Abigail and I sat down in the restaurant, which was decorated with baseball memorabilia, and waited for our waitress to come around. I pulled out my tiny silver cell phone, which I only ever used when I had to. I didn't really like the thought of being tracked just because I was carrying around a tiny telephone. But I carried it anyway. I just kept it off, because then the tracker didn't work.

"_Who are you calling?_"

"_Bobby_," I replied shortly. "_I want to get his opinion on how to do this_." She nodded understandingly while I waited for Bobby to pick up.

"Singer," he said in his most professional tone.

"Bobby," I sighed. It was good to hear his voice again. We hadn't talked to him in weeks.

"Gabby! How are ya? How's the hunt goin'?"

"Great. We're closing in on the last few that are hiding out in Chicago."

"Don't you check your messages?" he cried. "Jesus Christ, I called you last week and told you that those vamps were haulin' ass to Colorado!"

"Colorado? Why?!" Damn it. God…fucking…damn it. All that gas, all that time. Maybe I _should_ start checking my messages more often. Abby, overhearing the conversation, groaned and slammed her forehead on the table.

"Well, I'd assume it's because they know you're comin' for 'em. They wanna keep on the move. I'll let someone know and maybe they can pin 'em down for ya. I've got a few connections in a town called Manning."

"Oh, my God, Bobby. You are a life saver. If you can find someone who'll hold them but won't kill them then that would be great."

"You better hurry. No hunter is gonna want to keep a vampire alive for that long."

I knew he was right. We needed to haul ass before we lost the vampires. Most other hunters would kill the vampires on the spot. "Thanks, Bobby. We owe you one."

"Damn skippy," he laughed. "You two be careful."

"We will."

Once I was off the phone, I noticed that the waitress still hadn't shown up. Good thing, I thought, means we can go ahead and leave without any hold-up. "_But I'm hungry_," Abby complained.

"_We'll get something at McDonald's. We have to go_."

"_You're right I guess. It's a fifteen hour drive to Colorado. I slept more than you did, so I should drive_." Warily, I handed her the keys. I still held that letting a drunken person drive was safer than letting Abigail drive.

Abby drove us to the nearest McDonald's where we picked up two double cheeseburgers, two small fries, and two large Coke's. And then we were off again, heading west. I felt like every bite I took of my food made me more tired, and up until then I hadn't realized how much sleep I was missing out on. Every chew took more energy than I had. Eventually, I just gave up on eating, leaned against the window, and fell asleep.

For the first time in almost a year, I didn't have any nightmares. I was too tired, too worn down, to dream of anything except more sleep. The only time I came even close to dreaming was when I opened my eyes as we were passing through a bigger city. All of the lights were swirly and closer than they actually were. At first I was a little freaked out, but went right back to sleep because I was still too tired.

Abby woke me up around seven in the morning by giving me a mental prod. "_I need you to take over._" I sat up and looked around. She'd pulled into a truck station about three hours from where we needed to be. "_I'll stay here. You can go in and take a shower or whatever_."

I absolutely hated taking showers at truck stops. I always felt like I was being watched. But the nice part was it was always super clean. They gave you individual bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and soap, your own wash cloth and towel, and had a room where you could change and do your makeup.

I left Abigail in the car so she could sleep and went into the truck stop. As usual, there was a line for the men's showers, but absolutely nobody was in the women's shower area at all. So, I took my time. I gave my scalp a good scrub, left the conditioner in, shaved my legs, and washed my body really well. Once I was clean, dry, made up, and dressed I went to the restaurant part of the truck stop and got coffee for Abigail and myself. While I was at it, I picked up some breakfast for myself too.

It was nine o'clock before we were back on the road again. I hoped, as we passed yet another state line, that the vampires hadn't gotten too far. We had another few hours to go before we were even in the same state. I didn't even ask where they were specifically. Damn it.

Since I'd managed to miss out on some important info by not checking my messages, I decided to check them now. The first one was from Missouri. "Just makin' sure you were okay, darlin'. I'm certain you'll call, but I'm getting antsy. I want to know how you're doing." That message was from ten months ago. The next one was from six months ago. "Hey, Gabby. It's Bobby. Haven't heard from ya in a couple of weeks. Was just making sure you were on the right trail. I'll try again later."

On and on it went, either Missouri or Bobby trying to get in touch with us. Sometimes the messages were from some of the hunters we came across on our travels. One hunter in particular stood out from the others: Gordon. He hated vampires as much as we did, but he was crazier. There wasn't a person he wouldn't kill if they stood even remotely in the way of him killing a vampire. Abby and I had tried to distance ourselves as much as possible. His message was benign, but getting a call from him still made me want to change my number.

Finally, I got to Bobby's messages about the vampire's turning around. "Hey, Gabs. Just thought you should know that these vamps are making a little bit of a turn toward the west. Call me back."

"Gabby, this is gettin' serious. I think they're really gonna high-tail it to the west coast. I need you to call me back."

"Gabrielle! Check yer damn messages. Ugh. Just thought you oughtta know your vampires have turned completely and are headed for Colorado. Got a connection there. He says they'll be up there any day now. Call me back!"

And that was it. I emptied my inbox and went back to focusing on driving. The scenery was starting to get much less inhabited. The further west we went, the fewer the people and the more the mountains.

Abby woke up right around lunch time. "_Are we almost there?_" she asked and took a sip of her cold coffee. After making a face of distaste, she tossed the liquid out the window. "_Because I need to make a pit stop_."

"_Yeah, we're almost there. Once we get there we can utilize the remaining daylight to prepare, I guess_."

"_I guess_," she sighed and winced as the urge to pee got stronger.

"_The next rest stop is about a mile up the road_," I assured her just as the stop became visible. She got out and ran while the car was still moving. I didn't have to go, so I took the opportunity to call Bobby.

"Singer" he answered.

"Bobby," I replied. "We just crossed the Colorado state border."

"Okay. Manning is about an hour away from the state border. That gives you two some time to get ready."

"Our thoughts exactly."

"So what are you guys planning to do once this is all, ya know, over?"

"No idea," I admitted. "All I know is I want to keep hunting."

"Well, I've got oodles of cases you could work after you kill off the last of these sons of bitches."

There were times, like this, where I thanked any deity that existed for Bobby. Any problem we had, any question…Bobby could help. I missed being at his house, even if it did always smell like whiskey. "Thanks, Bobby."

"No problem, kiddo. You call me when you get this job finished. Maybe you two can come back and do the housework I've been refusing to do."

I had to laugh. Thinking of what state his house was in made me shudder, though. It wasn't perfect when Abby and I had left it, but it was damn near livable. Bobby had probably returned it to its previous state in the year and a couple of months that we'd been gone. "Alright, I'll call you as soon as we finish the last vamps off."

"Be safe."

"We will. Bye, Bobby."

Abigail returned from the bathrooms with a couple of bottles of water and two bags of chips. She'd pulled her hair into a ponytail and brushed her teeth. "_Hey_," she thought as she climbed into the car. "_You called Bobby_."

"_Mmhm. He told us to be careful. We're about an hour away from the vampires_, _he said_."

"_Mkay. I just want to get this over with so we can relax a little. I want to go back to Bobby's and do some more training, learn some more stuff_."

"_Me too_." I was glad that Abigail was on the same page as me. Having her to back me up, and me to back her up, had been easier than working alone since the first grade.

"_You honestly thought I was going to leave you?_" she asked, as if it had been obvious that she'd stay the whole time.

"_I didn't know what your plans were. You could've swung either way_."

"_Gabby_," she grumbled in frustration. "_You're my best friend. Why the hell would I leave you to hunt on your own?_"

"_Like I said, you could've chosen to go to college…chosen to have a life…_"

"_Don't be stupid_." The conversation about life ended there, and we began to talk about game plans until we reached a hotel in the town we were supposed to be in.

Manning was a tiny town that sat just below a few mountains and was surrounded by forest. I got the feeling that finding the vampires in a heavily wooded area like this would be sort of difficult. It was always a lot easier when they were out in the open. Usually we followed them to their nests and just killed them all there. This time, however, the vampires would be expecting us and wouldn't bunker down in an abandoned warehouse like they usually did. They'd be somewhere a lot less obvious.

Abigail pointed out a decent looking motel just inside the town's limits. It seemed like the perfect place to sit down and get ready for what was ahead of us. I parked the car around the back and walked around the front, leaving Abby with the car. The wizened old woman at the check-in desk welcomed me warmly to her motel.

"I'd like a room with two beds, please."

"Certainly, dear." She waddled over to the wall behind her where all the keys were hung up on little hooks. "A room with a view?" "_Pretty girl. Wonder who she's here with. Not a lover, because of the two beds…_"

"Sure." I really didn't care about a room with a view. We wouldn't see it much anyway. We'd be too busy polishing our machetes, checking our supply of Dead Man's Blood, and cleaning our guns.

I went back to the car, where Abby was putting all the necessary weapons into a duffle bag. "_Apparently we're getting a room with a view_," I told her and began helping her grab stuff.

"_Oh, boy_," she laughed. "_I think we got everything we need. What do you think?_"

"_Yeah_," I agreed. "_That looks like more than we need_." She had grabbed at least three different types of blades for the both of us, two jars full of Dead Man's Blood, couple of different guns, and enough ammo to put down a few elephants. "_Let's go see what this room looks like._"

Carrying all that gear up the stairs should have been easier than it was, but the air was so thin here near the mountains that I had a hard enough time walking. I would have moved it with my mind, but I was more than a little light-headed. "What is up with this?" I growled as I heaved my legs up another two steps.

"I have no idea," Abby panted aloud. "I hope this doesn't affect our plans for tonight."

"Oh, we'll have those vampires' heads if it's the last thing I do. Nothing and no one will be able to stop me or you."

"Mmhmm," she grunted as we reached the top of the stairs. I helped her lift the heavy suitcases full of our clothes up the last couple of stairs. Thank God we'd gotten the rolling suitcases, otherwise we'd still have to physically carry them down the hall.

Our room looked almost exactly like all the other rooms we'd stayed at. Shitty wallpaper, two single beds, a table in between them with a single lamp, and a small kitchenette was the main room…as always. The bathroom here was bigger than a few we'd been in before, but that didn't mean much. I opened the curtains to see this 'view' the lady spoke of.

It _was_ a spectacular view of the mountains. They were covered in pines and fir trees topped with snow. The earth that the trees were planted in was red clay, instead of the dark brown dirt I was used to. The forest was littered with the few creatures that weren't in hibernation. I could feel their energies as they scurried about in search of food that was either not there or wasn't enough to matter. I wished I could help them, but I could barely afford the food for myself.

I closed the curtains up and sat down at the little table in the tiny kitchen. "_Do you want to work on the knives or the guns?_"

"_Knives_." Abigail lifted the suitcases onto our beds then started pawing through the duffle bag. She retrieved all of the guns she'd brought, all the cleaning supplies, along with the ammo and put it down in front of me. "_I need to get better at sharpening anyway._"

I had to agree with that. Abby was fine at cleaning and loading the guns, but when it came to sharpening the knives she was terrible. A lot of the time, it was just because she couldn't get the right angle on the whetstone. I grabbed one of the rifles, popped open the barrel, and started with the cleaning process.

The guns didn't need much cleaning, since we cleaned them habitually after every use. So, all I had to do was oil them up, clean the grime off the wooden parts, and reload them with the proper ammunition. The salt-filled shells were our go-to form of ammunition in our main guns, but tonight I decided to load our shotguns with regular shells. They stung more than the salt when it came to vampires.

About halfway through our cleaning process, I caught Abigail thinking about her family. As usual, I decided not to invade, but she was projecting loud and clear. She was thinking about how she used to play tag football with her little brother, how we used to drive around town with her little sister and act like stupid fools, and how we used to go to the lake with her mom before she got Multiple Sclerosis and couldn't handle outdoor temperatures above eighty degrees. They were good memories that included me a lot of the time. Then again, a lot of my good memories included her, too.

"_I think I'm done,_" she thought around six o'clock. The sun was just starting to set behind the mountain tops. I walked over to the table to inspect her work. The knives were fairly sharp, so she was getting better with the angle she was using. "_Not bad?_"

"_Not bad. We should get ready. Practice a little with the blades while I take a shower. I feel gross_."

I went into the bathroom and put the water on at a temperature that was hotter than I usually liked it. My head was foggy, and I needed to be as alert as possible for this hunt. As I was washing the soap off of my limbs, Abby came in to the bathroom. "_Hey, let's get a move on. You've been in here for forty-five minutes._"

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be out in a second," I groaned and finished rinsing. I'd really wanted to take my time. Washing my hair alone had been a time-consuming thing, since I have so much of it. Getting all the conditioner out took almost five whole minutes, and that was exhausting. I pulled the shower curtain aside and wrapped a towel around myself.

I took my time with putting lotion on. The dry mountain air was already taking its toll on my skin. After that, I dried my hair, put my makeup on, and left the room to get dressed. Abby was sitting on her bed with her machete in her lap. She averted her eyes when I let the towel fall off so I could put my clothes on. "_Where should we start?_" I asked while I was pulling my jeans up.

"_Well, there's a bar we could stop in to just up the road. If the vampires touched anything there, I'll be able to tell where they went._"

It seemed as good of an idea as any. I slipped my boots on, instead of my sneakers, because of how cold it was. I could hear the people outside thinking about the temperature…a brisk thirty degrees. I threw on my coat, put a pistol in the back of my pants, a knife in my boots, and made sure I had my fake I.D. "Alright," I said as I grabbed my machete. "You ready?"

"_Ready._" We grabbed our shotguns and got ready to leave. "_Let's try not to pass any people while we're carrying these. I hate when people ask questions._"

"_That's why I parked around the back_."

Parking around the back meant avoidance of all the people who could see us with our guns. We made it through the halls without bumping into a single soul. The only people in the hotel rooms near us were a few animal hunters, a raunchy couple, and some people who were in Manning to go hiking. None of them saw, heard, or cared about us and what we were doing.

It was funny how much it irritated me that no matter how many people we saved, we never got thanked. The people in the motel had no idea that they could feel safe and warm in their beds because we were out hunting the things that went bump in the night. I shook it off, however, and started up the car.

The bar was grimy, as most were, but at least the bar tender was nice. She served us our illegal alcohol with a smile and started gossiping with one of the other customers. I put my filter on and started sifting through peoples' thoughts for anything that sounded like it could be related to the vampires we were searching for. I kept coming up with nothing, so I ordered a couple shots of whiskey for Abigail and myself.

I wasn't a huge fan of going to random bars for information, but they were still the tried-and-true method of getting helpful information. Sometimes we ran into other hunters in the bars, sometimes we got the information we needed, and sometimes we sat there for hours until the bar closed without getting any info at all. But again, it was necessary.

After our first two shots I quit, but Abby got a beer. I couldn't stand beer. It tasted the way it smelled and was altogether dissatisfying for me. So, instead I got a Coke and waited for something that sounded useful to come up in someone's mind or conversation.

"_Gabby_," Abigail thought. "_The bar tender…she knows something. Apparently there was a group of vampires here a couple of days ago. She doesn't know they're vampires, though_."

"_Very helpful_," I replied sarcastically. "_That doesn't tell us where they went_."

"_Well, it looks like right after they left here some man named Nathaniel Elkins was found dead in his home. Apparently he always kept a rather large journal with him_."

"_Okay_," I nodded and sipped my Coke. So, this Nathaniel Elkins had come across some vampires, who weren't the ones we were looking for, in the bar and was found dead right after. I wondered where she was going with this. I tuned in to the woman's thoughts and started sifting through her conversation.

After a few minutes, I found what I was looking for. She'd seen a car, some crappy nineties model, that turned down a side road. Inside the car were the vampires we were looking for. Then I saw a street sign, the one we'd seen coming in to town.

So, that's where they were hiding…off a side road just off the main road into town. Abigail took one last swig of her beer, laid thirty dollars on the bar, and slid off her stool. I followed her out into the cold, where she opened her hand for the keys. I decided to let her drive this time. She had seen where the vamps were hiding better than I had, because she'd been paying more attention.

I slid into the passenger seat, where my machete was waiting for me. Abigail started the engine, tore out of the parking lot, and skidded onto the main road. "_I guess we can park and scope the place out,_" I said. That was our plan, at least.

As we got closer to the edge of town, I started to pick up on a few different energies in the woods on either side of us. Two of energies were human, and the other three weren't. Unfortunately, we were still too far away for me to be able to tell exactly what was going on. But I was sure the three inhuman energies would be the vampires we were looking for.

The human energies worried me, though. Were they hostages that were being fed on? Were they being chased? If they were being chased, I didn't want to take the risk of them being caught in the cross-fire. "_What the fuck is going on?_" I wondered and started unbuckling my seatbelt. "_Park the car_."

"_Wait. Let's get as close as we can_," Abigail suggested, and kept driving. I shook my head and started to lean out of the window, just to see if I could see what was happening. All five beings were moving around. One was coming closer. It was definitely a vampire. I could feel it clearly. Another vampire was coming from the other side, and the last vampire was about to swing right out in front of us.

"Abigail! Park the car!" I yelled and swung my torso out of the window.

There he was…a large, dark vampire with flashing eyes. He jumped out in front of us, causing Abby to turn the wheel so hard that the car spun around in circles. I almost fell out of the car window, but managed to anchor myself on the hood by imagining my hand was attached. Thank God for telekinetics.

I tried to keep my eyes fixed on the vampire, but he was steadily getting further away. I had to act, or else we would lose him. I launched my machete at him, and tried to curve it with my mind so that it would take off the head. But something happened, and it got stuck in the vamp's vertebrae.

"_What the hell?_" Someone's thoughts came through loud and clear…Dean Winchester. It all became very apparent what was going on. Sam and Dean Winchester had been hunting the same vampires that we were. That would explain the extra human thoughts. "_Not human. Who should I kill? Vampire's first._" Dean shot one of a female vampire with his crossbow while Sam was trying to figure out where the last one went.

The car finally stopped spinning, so I could see properly. The last vampire was running away in the opposite direction as fast as he could…too fast for human legs to catch up. Pissed off and ready for this to be over, I grabbed another blade from the back seat and mentally yanked the vampire back so that he'd be close enough to kill. Once he was within fifty feet of me, I launched the blade at him and took off the head in one clean slice.

Abigail got out of the car. "Did you get them all?"

"NO!" I screamed. "I told you to park the fucking car, Abby! If you'd parked it half a mile back like I said, then I would have been able to get them all!" I ran over to the vampire who was only half-way beheaded. He was trying to pull the machete out of his neck, but the Dead Man's Blood was taking its toll. "Well, hey there, ugly."

"Bitch," he swore and tried to grab my ankle. I yanked my foot back and pushed the machete the rest of the way through his neck as slowly as I could. Once it was past the vertebrae, he laughed. "Your little sisters screamed and cried for you, but you couldn't save them."

"Shut up," I mumbled and pushed the machete the rest of the way through, severing his head completely. What he'd said wasn't a lie, but there was nothing I could do about it now.

I could feel that the last vamp Dean had shot with his crossbow was still alive. Typical…he _would_ be so cocky as to leave her alive long enough for the Dead Man's Blood to wear off. If you wanted something done right…. I turned around to make sure Abby was burning the bodies, but found a gun in my face instead.

"Who are you? Well, the better question is, _what_ are you?" "_No human I've ever met has that kind of mojo._" I could see him going over different creatures in his head, but the only one coming up was a demon.

"Dean," I sighed and closed my eyes. "Put the gun down. I'm human."

"How do I know you're not lying? And how do you know my name?"

Sam, who had a gun on Abby, gasped. "We met you guys at Missouri's house. Abby and…Gabby…right?" "_I thought they looked familiar…but they could still be dangerous…doesn't mean they're not human_."

"Right," Abby nodded. Her hands were raised and she looked terrified. Neither of us had yet perfected how to block bullets.

"You still haven't answered the question," Dean pushed the gun a little further into my face. "Who and what are you?" "_It'll be a shame if we have to kill 'em. They're both really pretty…_"

"_Just tell him, Gabby_," Abby pleaded. "_I can't imagine getting our faces blown off would be a pleasant experience._"

I really didn't want to tell them. Missouri was the only person who really encouraged what we did. Even Bobby didn't thoroughly understand, and he was a little afraid of it. But, to save our necks, I told him. "We're psychics."

"I've never seen psychics pull crap like that. At least, not psychics who were born that way." In his head, he started going through images of a kid who was about Sam's age. He had a knife pointed at his mother's face, but he wasn't using his hands. And then I saw a man with yellow eyes…a demon who had something to do with Sam. Was Sam a psychic, too?

I gave him a mental prod that any psychic would understand, but he didn't seem to notice it at all. So, it was back to dealing with Dean. "We're telekinetic psychics. We can hear thoughts, move objects with our minds…" I left out the tracking part. It was a minor detail that they didn't really need to know.

"You can hear thoughts?"

"Missouri could hear thoughts," Sam reminded him. "And telekinetic people _do_ exist." Slowly, he started to lower the gun (but kept it ready). Dean, however, kept his poised right in front of my forehead. "Maybe we should let them go. It's not like they were hurting anybody. They were just hunting vampires."

"Dean! Sam!" John Winchester called out from the woods. "_Where the hell are they? Told them to stay put…_" He emerged from the woods, holding a crossbow and a bloody arrow. When he saw what was going on, he moved toward us a little faster with a disconcerted look on his face. "What the hell's going on? Gabby, Abby…?"

"You know these two?" Dean demanded.

"Yeah, I know 'em. They were stayin' at Missouri's at the same time I was, training to hunt and kill vampires. They actually helped me out a lot."

That seemed to do it for Dean. If John trusted us, he trusted us. Dean lowered the gun and turned to speak to his father. "Where'd you go? You missed all the action." "_Wonder if he knows they're psychic-telekinetic-freaks, or maybe they left that part out_."

"How many were there?" John asked and stared at the bloody arrow in his hand. "_Never answered the question,_" Sam seethed in his head. The look of distrust was plain on his face. It seemed that Sam trusted his father less than he trusted a complete stranger when it came to telling the truth.

"There were three," Dean told him. "They got the two big ones here, and I left a female back there with an arrow in her chest."

John looked confused for a moment then held up the arrow in his hand. "You mean this one? Damn it, Dean! You didn't kill her before the blood sickness wore off!"

"Oh, my God!" I screamed and stomped my foot on the ground. "Are you fucking kidding me?" Abigail sank into a sitting position on the ground and buried her hands in her face. I reared on Dean and yelled, "Do you know how long it has taken us to get here? She was the last one we had to kill and you let her get away!"

"Hey, if you two hadn't been distracting us with your telekinetic crap we wouldn't have forgotten to kill the bitch!"

John got in between us and pushed us apart. "Enough! Dean, you did let her get away because you were being careless. Gabby, we'll help you track her down again. She couldn't have gone far."

"She's gotten far enough," I grumbled and crossed my arms over my chest. "We have no idea which direction she went or anything." Since vampires were so rare, I had serious doubts as to whether John was aware of how difficult they were to track.

"Let me see the arrow," Abby sighed and held out her hand. Dean and Sam both raised their eyebrows as John handed the arrow to her. She ran her hands over the length of it, covering her fingers with blood, and closed her eyes.

"What good will that do?" Sam wondered.

"Shh," I said while Abby started turning it over in her hands. After a few moments, she opened her eyes again.

"She went north. That much I know."

Both Sam and Dean were thinking the same thing: "_?!_" I didn't really feel like explaining it, but I knew they wouldn't accept it if we didn't tell them exactly what just happened. "Abigail can track someone just by touching something they've touched."

"This is so fresh that I can hear what she was thinking. It was just one word… '_North'_."

"Good. Sam and Dean, you two can help them find this vampire while I see if I can track down more information about the demon we're hunting," John told them.

"Dad, don't you think the demon takes top priority?" Sam interjected. "_I'm really getting sick of this bullshit._"

"Of course it is, but Dean fucked up so he has to fix it." Sam threw up his hands in protest and Dean started to argue, but John wouldn't hear it. "That's an order," he said and began to walk up the road back towards town.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"So what's the plan then, Princess?" Dean was downright venomous. You'd think this was our fault somehow, judging by the look on his face.

"We find the vamp before she finds reinforcements," Gabby replied nonchalantly. I could feel the spike in his blood pressure from all the way over here.

"No shit?" he asked condescendingly.

"No shit," Gabby flashed him a cheeky smile. We should honestly be finding a more discreet place to discuss this. There are two corpses on the ground, and my hands were covered in quickly drying blood. Talk about sketchy.

"Well, I could have told you that. Would you care to elaborate? I don't have time to dick around with a couple of babies with machetes." Dean was raising his voice now.

"I'm sorry, I don't have a fucking contingency plan for an asshole swooping in and letting the vamp get away!" Gabby finally snapped, and I can't say I blame her. This guy was pushing every single one of her buttons.

"Could we turn this down a notch?" Sam stepped between the two of them as a rather giant physical barrier. "Or five?" He was looking at Dean.

"_…really have to be diplomatic right now? Wasting our time…Jesus Christ…" _Dean was fuming internally. Sam gave him a rather pointed look, and Dean tried taking some deep breaths. I could feel Gabrielle trying to unwind too as I looked up at the sky.

"_It's going to rain soon. We're going to lose the trail if we don't hurry," _I thought as I chewed the inside of my cheek. All of this fighting wasn't going to get us anywhere any faster.

"If we stand here bickering much longer we won't be able to track her," Gabby said once she had regained her composure, "Abby, how well do you think you'll be able to find her with what we've got?"

The verbalized question startled me out of my reverie. Everyone's eyes were on me now. I opened and closed my mouth a few times before I managed to spit out a response. "I'm going to need something more to go off of besides this arrow and the general direction. Call Bobby and see if he knows anything about where she might be headed," I mumbled, and Gabby was dialing his number before I had even finished my sentence.

"Bobby Singer?" Dean asked with raised eyebrows. "You two know him?"

"Who doesn't?" Gabby quipped with a roll of her eyes. If looks could kill, Dean would be guilty of first degree murder right now.

"Hey, Bobby, how's it going...Really? All by himself? That's awesome...Yeah you're right, it's not just a social call. Someone was hunting the same vamp we were, and in the confusion she ended up getting away. Do you have any idea where she might be headed …? Right, okay, thanks a million. I'll let you know."

"That was quick." Sam sounded impressed.

"He's been helping us hunt down this specific bunch of vampires for a while so he's on top of it," Gabby shrugged it off. "Alright, he said that there weren't any nests nearby that could help her out, _but _there have been rumors about one in Nebraska. That's close enough to north for me."

"We've driven farther on less," I answered simply. She just nodded her agreement.

"We're going to clean this mess up and then meet you back in town. Where are you staying?" Gabby asked Sam.

"We're staying at the motel on Washington Street, room six. Are you sure you don't need help?" He eyed the bodies skeptically.

"Yes," Gabby answered curtly as she pulled some tarps out of the trunk. Dean was lucky she couldn't see him mocking her.

"_…mature…really mature, Dean. You're supposed to be the older one." _Sam's thoughts were so loud that I couldn't help but hear. He was shaking his head at Dean before he turned and started walking back in to town after his Dad.

"What?" Dean asked incredulously as he followed him.

"I don't even know if I want their help if it means I've got to put up with that douche," Gabby muttered while I helped her roll the bodies into the tarp.

"Don't say that. We could always use back up. God knows how many friends she'll round up before we get to her," I thought back.

"You're probably right," she conceded.

"_Back the car up to the tarp so we don't have to carry it a million feet,_" I suggested. Gabby nodded as I handed her the keys and followed my advice.

After some haggling and a lot of heavy lifting, the vamps were in the trunk and we were on our way. Gabby was cruising through town, probably trying to get to a more wooded area to burn the bodies, but I wasn't really paying attention. I was staring at the blood on my hands and following a very deep and confusing train of thought.

There was only one more vamp left. There was only one more murderer out there who hadn't received our swift and personal brand of justice. We had been so close to finishing this. I wasn't really sure how to feel at the moment. I had spent a long time clinging to the hope that revenge would ease the ache in my chest. Now it was time to face the music. Once her head rolls off of her shoulders, it will all be over, but that isn't going to bring my family back. It isn't going to fill the hole in my life that they left either, but hopefully it would make the world a better place.

The streetlights and pine trees were blurring together in my peripheral vision, and they held about as many answers as I did.

"Are you ok?" The sound of Gabby's voice brought me back to the surface of reality. I looked up from my hands and nodded. Wait, when had we stopped?

"About twenty seconds ago. You didn't miss much," she smiled at me before her face got serious. "How are you feeling?"

It took me a minute to think about it, and I couldn't really come up with anything. I wasn't sad or angry or happy or anxious. There wasn't really a proper way to say it, so I just opened up my mind to her for her perusal. I could feel her picking around before she let out a sigh.

"I know. I don't know if killing these vamps will make it any better either, but at least we can say that we did something about it. Everything afterwards, we'll figure out. I promise." She grabbed one of my hands and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"C'mon, we've got shit to do." Gabby gave me a little shove, and we both got out of the car.

A few hours later, Gabby was groggy enough to let me drive us back into Manning's main street. I pulled into the parking lot of the Winchesters' motel just short of two in the morning. I knew I was in the right place because I spied their car in the far corner. It was too distinctive to be practical, but I could definitely see the appeal.

"I don't think I'm equipped to deal with the short one right now," Gabby thought ruefully.

"_You'll live,_" was all I had to offer to console her. She grunted and groaned as we got out of the car and headed into the motel.

"I hope they're still awake," Gabby grumbled as she knocked on the door. A very sleepy Sam opened the door after a few seconds, quickly surveyed the hallway behind us, and then let us in. Their room wasn't anything spectacular. There were two beds, a bathroom, a table, and a dinky little coffee maker.

"Nice place," Gabby commented unnecessarily.

"Don't." John said when Dean opened his mouth to retaliate. He didn't even look up from the map he was currently analyzing.

"_What a jerk…Dean deserves better than that…swooping in here and treating him like he's four…" _I could feel Sam tense up, but Dean's emotions were strangely muted. Man, this family has some serious issues.

"So, what's the plan then?" John asked once he was done looking at his mystery map.

"Bobby said there are signs of a nest in Norfolk, Nebraska. That's where we're headed next. You can help if you want to, but it's really not all that necessary," Gabby shrugged. John didn't seem perturbed or surprised that we knew Bobby.

"This is the last one, right?" John asked as he leaned back in his chair, hands linked across his stomach. We both nodded. I took a peek inside his mind, just a little one. The expression on his face wasn't easily readable.

"_…help them with this they might help us find this damn demon…running out of time…" _I managed to catch the hind end of all of the thoughts racing around in his head.

"Dean let this vamp get away, and we're going to make sure you find her again and kill her this time," John finally said out loud. Dean rolled his eyes, but said nothing.

"_Don't say anything about us helping them yet. I don't want to go making promises or playing any cards we don't have to just yet,_" Gabby thought to me as she nodded. "Thanks. We really appreciate it. There's no telling how much back up she's going to be able to round up before we get to her," she said and breathed out a sigh of relief. I was honestly hoping that John would change his mind. I wasn't interested in any awkward family road trips.

"Do you guys really think she's headed to Nebraska? I'd hate for us all to be on a wild goose chase," Sam asked from his seat on the bed. Gabby paused to think before answering.

"We know there are vamps up there, and we know that ours is heading north as we speak. Either that's where she's headed, or they're going to tell us where we can find her. Abigail's going to do a more thorough check of the street before we turn in. Maybe there's something there that she missed."

Sam seemed somewhat appeased, but John was giving me an appraising look.

"I didn't know that tracking was one of your party tricks," he said finally. I shrugged noncommittally. "You're about as talkative as I remember."

"We don't really like to advertise what kinds of stuff we can do. Mostly because it's hard to explain, and partly because it could get us killed," Gabby offered.

"I'm sure it's useful as hell though," John commented. He took a rather large swig of something that looked like whiskey.

"_…I know he's up to something…I don't like that look…" _Sam was frowning at John. He glanced over at Dean, eyebrows raised, but Dean just shrugged.

"I highly doubt she's reached Nebraska yet, and no one is going to be any good hunting half-asleep. Two of you exchange numbers or something. We're going to meet here tomorrow- ready to leave- at seven tomorrow morning," John ordered and finished his drink.

Dean rolled his eyes and heaved himself up from the bed. "Give me your phone, Freckles." He raised his hands to catch it as I tossed it to him

"Abigail." I corrected him.

"Sure," he said as he finished putting in his number and tossed it back. He smiled at me, but I just frowned back at him. I didn't think it was very cute.

_"…so frigid...sorry you can't take a joke…_" he was thinking as he shook his head.

"Alright! Well, we'll see you in the morning then," Gabby announced after a few seconds of awkward silence. She gave a short wave to everyone and no one, and then followed me out of the room.

"That was awkward," she commented once we got to the car.

"Agreed."

The next morning was ultimately uneventful. Dean laughed hysterically at the tissue shoved up Gabby's nose for a good two minutes before she threatened to castrate him-or something to that effect. I was too tired to really be paying attention.

"It's called altitude sickness, you asshole." She tried so hard to sound indignant, but it just came out nasally. Dean was in practically in stitches again, and the rest of us were cracking up this time too. Gabby huffed in disgust and got in the car, muttering something about us being children. I followed her into the car quickly, and the rest of the drive went off without a hitch.

Gabby was in charge of our little procession with John following behind us and Sam and Dean behind him. I'm not sure when I feel asleep, but I came to around one o'clock in the afternoon.

Gabby was humming along with some nonsense pop song while the endless cornfields blended together outside of my window. We must be getting close.

"Definitely close. I just passed the Nebraska state line." Gabby answered my question before I could even ask it properly. I nodded and reached around for a water bottle. I ended up settling for an almost empty bottle of Gatorade Gabby had bought a couple days ago. My throat was too dry and thick with sleep to ignore.

"Bobby called. He said that some girl was found just outside of Norfolk with her throat ripped out sometime this morning. We're definitely headed in the right direction." Gabby continued once I had woken up a little, "He also said to be careful."

I nodded and did a once over of all the cornfields. How do people live here? Gabby chortled a little at the thought. She was all smiles and confidence, but her knuckles were white from gripping the wheel. We were easily doing twenty over the speed limit too.

I leaned back in my seat and admired the 'scenery'. I opened myself up to her mind and tried to swallow Gabby's agitation in the calmness of my own. We spent ten or fifteen minutes mingling thoughts and emotions before the stillness of my mind won out. I found myself staring blankly out of the window, taking slow, easy breaths, and listening to the soft whistle of the wind and the rumble of the engines. It felt like nothing else existed right now except Gabby and I and some farmland. All fear and anxiousness had been extinguished, if only for a moment.

During one of our pit stops, we had decided that we shouldn't drive into town as a procession; it would draw too much attention. John had pulled into town first, followed by Gabby and me, and then Sam and Dean were supposed to be last. There wasn't any point in getting a motel room, so we all just met up in the back parking lot of some diner just inside town.

"So, what's the plan, ladies?" Dean asked immediately after he got out of his car.

"Abby thinks we should split up. I disagree. We thought we might as well ask your opinions," Gabby said, turning her fiery gaze from me to the three of them. Her lips were in a thin line and her hands on her hips. I tried to and failed to suppress a smile at her subtle tantrum.

"It's not funny," she snapped at me. Dean jumped a little from the abruptness of it.

"I guess it's my turn to disagree," I mumbled. She gave me one of her looks, her I-swear-to-God-I'm-going-to-kill-you-if-we-don't-die look, and turned back to the boys expectantly.

"We're pressed for time and resources. Splitting up is probably a good idea," John stated. Dean nodded his agreement, not looking Gabby in the eye. He nudged Sam with his elbow, and Sam begrudgingly huffed and nodded too.

"Fine. I guess we're splitting up," Gabby snipped.

"_For the love of God, don't put Sam and John in the same group. We don't have time to break up World War III right now_," I thought to her.

"_Fair enough," _she conceded. "Abigail is ten times the tracker I am so I don't think she'll need as much help as I do. You two boys can come with me, and John can go with Abby."

"Why do we get stuck with you?" Dean groaned. Sam looked at him with a mixture of disdain and disbelief.

"_At least we don't get stuck with Dad," _he thought bitterly. My eyes widened just a bit. What the hell was up with this family?

"Excuse me?" Gabby asked incredulously.

"Don't pretend you didn't hear me. Why can't we go with Freckles?"

"Abigail." I hissed.

"You'll live," he brushed me off.

"Dean, that's enough," John warned. Dean shut his mouth tight, jaw clenching.

"What Dean _meant _to say was: our dad is better at tracking vamps than either of us, so if you need the help then you should probably go with him," Sam proposed. He had his hands shoved in his jean pockets, and he was still giving Dean one of his looks.

"Fine, you guys go with Abigail then. If he gives you any lip," Gabby said, gesturing towards Dean. "Kick his ass."

"_Sure, ok. I just have to grow five inches and gain thirty pounds first_," I thought wryly. Dean's expression seemed to match my sentiment.

"We'll take the north side of town. You three take the south. Keep in touch, and don't get into any trouble," John rumbled and turned to walk back to his truck. Gabby squeezed my shoulder and smiled before she followed suit.

"So," Sam started, "How do you wanna do this?"

"Well, I usually just walk around and…touch stuff?" _Really smooth, Abigail_. I am clearly not equipped to deal with social interaction today.

"Walk around and touch stuff?" Dean asked. He let out an exasperated laugh.

"_…we're going to die…can't believe this," _were the general thoughts swirling around in his mind.

"It's not an exact science," I admitted.

"You don't say? Let's get going. The sooner you touch stuff, the sooner we can find this bitch and leave," Dean said and started getting his supplies together.

"Sorry about him. He's just anxious to deal with our own issues," Sam apologized. I just shrugged in what I hope was a forgiving manner. He gave me a tight-lipped smile and left it alone. Thank God.

There's no time like the present, so I walked over to the nearest wall and ran my left hand over it. The first thing I registered was the coarseness of the bricks, and then the memories came flooding in. I saw the bus boy taking the trash out, two teens smoking cigarettes they stole from one of their parents, a small black cat sifting through the garbage, and a waitress on her smoke break, but nothing violent or suspicious.

Once Dean decided he was ready, I set out with the two of them down the street. I didn't have any destination in mind. I just knew I was going south. I tried to continuously have a hand or a shoulder brushing up against walls and pipes and dumpsters or anything else that could help. The only things I was finding were flashes of everyday life. I picked up a fist fight over a poker debt three blocks ago and a mugging down on King Street, but that it was it. It was almost too peaceful here.

Despite my constant efforts to shush him, Dean was full of questions about what I was doing and how it worked and if I was done yet. "Maybe we aren't looking in the right place," was his latest remark.

"Dean, would you leave her alone. Nothing is going to get done if you keep bothering her," Sam groaned.

"I'm tired, Sammy. Tired and bored."

"You're always tired and bored," Sam sounded rather defeated. I had the world's worst migraine and sweat was trickling down my back in the middle of June, and he wants to complain about boredom. It was hard to ignore the urge to roll my eyes.

"I don't think Freckles likes me very much," Dean purposefully tried to provoke me for the tenth time today. I decided to ignore the obnoxious nickname and stay focused.

"I don't like you very much either," Sam grunted.

Not ten seconds later, I spotted the big ugly stain on the concrete. This blood was pretty fresh; there was still police tape fluttering desolately in the wind. I almost lost my lunch when I reached down to read the cement.

_The girl walking down the street couldn't have been more than sixteen or seventeen. She didn't seem anxious or paranoid, but she lives in a small town, so what is there to be afraid of? She hears a whimper when she passes by the alleyway and does a double take. Another whimper echoes in the small space._

_ "Hello?" She calls out, "Is somebody there?" There was no answer._

_ "Is somebody hurt?" Apprehension had started to set in. She was torn between being on time for work and helping whoever was in trouble. _

_ She took a few steps into the alley, peering around the dumpsters, and that's when they got her. A blonde vampire launches at her from behind a pile of trash. The girl fights back, but even though the vamp is weak, she can still overpower her victim. One of her hands is forcing her head up and back, and the other is in a death grip around her waist. _

_ "P-please! Please, you can take my money- take anything, just please don't hurt me!" The girl cried out, struggling against her attacker. The vampire showed no mercy. She ripped into the teen's throat desperately. She gulped down her blood and ignored the frantic gurgling coming from her meal. The poor girl's legs kicked out for the last time, hands dropping uselessly to her sides, but her blood was still gushing. It smeared over the blonde's face and painted the walls. _

_ It only took a minute or two for the vamp to drink her fill, and when she was done, she tossed her victim's body unceremoniously in the pile of trash she had been hiding behind. _

_ "This is definitely the vampire we're looking for." I announced once the flashback was over. I wiped the sweat off of my forehead with my jacket sleeve and straightened up._

_ "You need a break?" Sam asked after he took in my appearance. I shook my head and continued down the alley. There are little tell-tale drops of blood here and there that have dried over since the morning. I followed them to the end of the narrow space and lay my hands on the fence that closes it off. I can see her vaulting over the top, and I can feel blood crusting and flaking underneath my palms. Without a second thought, I backed up and hauled myself over the fence too. Sam and Dean were quick to follow. The pace I was setting after I breached the fence was feverish and erratic, but they kept up just fine. _

_ The trail was obvious for a few more blocks before it suddenly disappeared. Trying to read the ground was difficult at best, but I had to try something. I ended up on my hands and knees sifting through every footstep consequential enough to leave an imprint before I found her. She had spotted the members of the nest she came to find. The vamp haggled with them for a few minutes before getting into their car and driving away. _

"Dammit!" I cried out and slammed my fist into the ground, which I regretted instantly.

"What is it? What did you find?" Dean demanded. I took a few moments to catch my breath before I answered.

"She found the nest. They got into a little green Honda Civic and drove off in that direction. That's all I've got," I said once I had gotten back on my feet. My breathing was still coming in quick, shallow bursts. My head was pounding.

"Can't you just track the car to the nest?"

"No, cars move too fast for me to track them. They don't usually stay in one place long enough to leave any kind impression."

"_…real useful…what do we do now..._" he thought wryly.

"Now," I said. "We regroup."

A few strained phone calls later found our little group of three sitting in some local fast food joint waiting for John and Gabby to show up. They had a few ideas where the nest could be, and there wasn't much else I could pull from the streets. I was starving and overexerted, so I had my own motives for wanting to wait in a restaurant. I tried my best not to inhale my food, but I still managed to finish it in a little more than five minutes.

"Are you still going through puberty, or is that a psychic thing?" Dean asked, nose crinkling while finished off my last few fries.

"Psychic thing," I answered once I was done sucking the salt off of my fingers.

"How does it make you hungry though? Is there a specific physiological reason?" Sam wondered. I just shrugged and crumpled up all of my trash and threw it away. After I sat down again, we spent a few minutes in uncomfortable silence. Sam was pretending to be busy on his phone, and Dean was scratching something on to the table with one of his knives.

"So…your friend… is she always like that, or does she just need to get laid?" Dean asked once he couldn't take it anymore.

"Like what?" I turned my gaze from the window back to him.

"Bitchy."

"Oh, it's just you," I responded.

He snorted,"What's that supposed to mean?"

"She doesn't like you."

He shook his head and went back to carving up the table. Sam grinned at me over his phone before going back to whatever it was he was doing. I was watching out the window again for a few minutes before Gabby and John showed up. They came in quietly and sat down at the table with us.

"Alright, so we found a place in the northern part of town where they might be hiding," Gabby said in a hushed tone once she made sure no one was around to here.

"Thank God," Dean exclaimed. "Where is it?"

"It's an old shucking mill on the outskirts of town. We spotted a little green Civic behind the bushes, and Gabby definitely sensed people in there," John replied.

"Yeah, and the vibes coming off of them were way too strong to be squatters," Gabby added.

"So, what's our strategy?" Sam asked. It was amazing how much John's presence affected his demeanor. Twenty seconds ago he was perfectly amiable, and now he was grouchy and defiant.

"It's getting too late to attack now. They'll all be awake soon and ready to fight. We'll take shifts watching the factory tonight to make sure that they don't try to make a run for it. Once the sun is nice and high tomorrow, we'll sneak in and take 'em out," John said. Sam nodded, seemingly satisfied.

"_…didn't take as long as I thought…can't wait for this to be over,_" Dean was thinking as he listened to John's plan.

"We'll take first watch. There's no way I'm getting to sleep anytime soon anyway," Gabby announced. I couldn't help but cringe inwardly. She might not be getting any sleep, but I was dead tired. I could also go for some more food.

"You got it. We'll come to take over at about two tomorrow morning. Meet us back at the mill at nine," John said curtly. Gabby nodded and motioned for me to follow her. Without another word, we were out the door and on our way.

Gabby didn't stop to book a room or anything; we just went straight to the mill. I needed a shower and more food, but she was too on edge for me to justify complaining. I could read the frustration and anticipation written in every line of her face.

"_Wake me up in three hours,_"I silently requested. She nodded, but her eyes were trained on the mill. There really wasn't any point trying to fight off the sleep or trying to make small talk, so napping made sense to me. I put my seat back a little bit and let go of the tension in my shoulders. It took me about five minutes to pass out.

It wasn't very restful sleep. I kept tossing and turning, and I couldn't get comfortable. I couldn't get that girl from the alley out of my mind. She had been so young. She had her whole life left to live, but it was ripped away from her violently and painfully. I could still hear the gurgle of her blood in her throat when I started to wake. Gabby had my arm over her shoulder trying to pull me out of the car.

"What are you doing?" I mumbled. What did I miss while I was asleep?

"Our half of the watch is over. You seemed tired, so I let you sleep. Come on, your bed awaits, Abigail," Gabby grunted as she pulled me out of the passenger's seat

"You shouldn't have done that," I muttered as I stumbled into the motel. My mind was still foggy with sleep, but I managed to stay up long enough to make sure Gabby finally got to sleep. Once her mind had lapsed into her all-too-familiar sleeping pattern, I let myself drift back into unconsciousness.

It seemed like I had only just closed my eyes when I felt the sunlight blaring through my eyelids. "Wake up, Sleeping Beauty," Gabby called from the bathroom. It sounded like she was brushing her teeth. I groaned and rolled over, away from the light.

"I'm serious. We're not going to be late," her tone was stern. I might've been afraid if I wasn't so tired. I heard her spit and turn on the faucet briefly, so I knew she was done. I wasn't prepared for her to rip the blankets right off of me.

"You slept for like 10 hours. Get up," she ordered. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and tried to blink away the harshness of the sun. I flinched as I felt a towel hit me in the chest. I didn't need more prompting than that. It only took me about thirty seconds to get out of my old clothes and into the warm shower. Once I was thoroughly clean I walked out of the bathroom to find coffee and clean clothes waiting for me.

"You're a fucking saint, you know that?" I said thickly after a rather large gulp of coffee.

"Yeah, yeah," she brushed it off. She was doing a last minute check of our inventory. I pulled on my clothes and chugged the rest of my coffee. I was determined to be helpful at least a little bit before we left to go to the mill.

"Don't worry about it. You worked really hard yesterday. You deserved some rest," Gabrielle said softly as she tossed the last knife into the bag.

"You better watch it. You're enabling me right now," I jibed. Making light of the situation was my forte.

"Trust me; you don't need any help with that. Let's get all of this stuff to the car and get this over with." She had an edge to her voice that I couldn't quite place. It only took one trip to get all of our stuff to the car. After that Gabby checked out, and we were on our way.

We were pulling up behind the guys' car in ten minutes time. There was a part of me that wanted this over and done with and another part that wished we had more time to prepare, more time to put this off. The first part of me ended up winning, so I gritted my teeth and slid out of the car.

"Did anything interesting happen while we were gone?" Gabby asked once we had all convened outside of our cars.

"Nothing to report," John replied. "Everything's been quiet. They're all probably out cold by now. Dean and Sam are going to man the exits and make sure none of these vamps escape while the three of us are in there taking out as many as we can." Gabby nodded her approval, but the boys didn't look so happy.

"…_he always makes us sit out…not 16 anymore…" _Sam was brooding. He should really not take it so personally; bitchy wasn't a good look for him. Also, I really don't think John notices, and if he does then he definitely doesn't care.

"How good are you with a bow and arrow?" John asked, addressing both me and Gabby.

"Neither of us is extremely proficient…" Gabby replied noncommittally.

"Alright, then I'll be the one shooting them down before you two attack. We'll try to pump as much Dead Man's Blood into them as possible before all hell breaks loose." John sounded pretty confident. Probably about ten times more confident than I felt at the moment. This was really happening right now. He already had a quiver of arrows soaked in the blood hanging off of his shoulder, and Sam, Dean, and Gabby had their machetes out already. I quickly pulled out my own before someone wondered what was wrong.

I took a few breaths before steeling myself for what we were about to do. There isn't anything different about how we were going to execute this hunt. There is just more sentimental weight to it. I needed to stay objective and level-headed. I reached out to touch Gabby's psyche, but it was silent and withdrawn. Whatever she was feeling on the subject she wanted to keep to herself.

The five of us approached the warehouse slowly. John was leading with Gabby and me behind him and Sam and Dean behind us. The large, metal door swung upon with a surprisingly small amount of creaking. Gabby and I headed in first to get in to position before we heard the whistle of arrows coming from John. Each and every one of them landed with a sickening _thunk_ in their intended targets.

Gabby had lobbed off the head of her first vamp before he had even properly woken up. I turned in time to see a female stumbling towards me. I ducked her outstretched arms and popped up to slice through her neck, quick and easy. That was all it took for me to get in the zone. This wasn't a particularly large nest, so finishing them off would be quick.

The whole room was a cacophony of screams and moans and the sound of bodily dismemberment for what felt like an eternity. My head was on a swivel the whole time trying to seek out the vamp we were looking for, but to no avail. One of my desperate attempts to find her ended with a pair of vampire teeth embedded deeply into my shoulder. I elbowed whoever it was in the ribs, hard, but the bite barely faltered. I tried not to panic as I worked on getting this son of a bitch off of me. The vamp was weak from the dead man's blood so I had a chance of fighting him off. I spotted the nearest pillar and hurled myself backwards into it. It was enough to get him to loosen up so I could yank my shoulder out of his death grip. The sting of his teeth being violently ripped out of my shoulder was dulled by my overwhelming instinct to survive, but it still hurt like hell.

I was scrambling to grab my blade from where it had fallen when he lunged for me again. I stumbled backwards and hit the ground as John materialized out of nowhere. One swing and the vampire's head slid right off of his shoulders and into my lap. I cringed and threw it as far away from me as possible. John looked like he was chuckling. I couldn't hear him either way.

"Thanks," I choked out. He nodded and grabbed the elbow of my good arm and hauled me up.

"We caught your vamp. We've got her subdued until we can finish up the rest of the nest," he spoke right into my ear. I nodded to let him know I heard what he said, and we both went our separate ways again.

I killed two or three more vamps before everything was said and done. The nest was decimated, and we all looked a little worse for wear. Gabby was the worst of all of us. She was covered head to foot in blood spatters. Her machete was dripping thick, red blood, and the look on her face was scathing as she stared down the vamp we had been looking for.

"I guess the jig is up," the vamp laughed right in Gabby's face. She was met with silence and glares. "Someone's a little moody. This seems like the appropriate time to beg for mercy, but I figured it would be a moot point since I pretty much ate your sister alive."

"_Do it, Gabby. I want this to be over. Right here and right now,_" I silently commanded her.

"_You sure you want _me_ to do it?" _she was hesitant as she looked at me. I just nodded once to let her know it was okay. Her grip tightened on the machete a few times before she took the final swing. The vamp's eyes closed before Gabby's blow landed on her neck. Her head rolled off of her shoulders, and Gabby was now trying to get her blade unstuck from the wall. I couldn't help but think that this was all anti-climactic as Gabby pried her blade out of the wood.

She didn't even bother to slip it back into its holster before she wrapped her arms around my neck. I hissed slightly from the pain in my shoulder so she snaked her arms around my waist instead. I hugged her back with everything I had because this was finally, _finally _over.

"Let's get out of here," she suggested from somewhere over my shoulder. We all murmured our agreement and high-tailed it out of there.

About an hour later, we were all sitting in the Winchesters' room having a few celebratory drinks while tall, dark, and has-absolutely-no-fucking-finesse-with-medical-instruments was working on my shoulder. My unorthodox method of shaking off my attacker had left more than half a dozen teeth festering in my shoulder, and getting them out was more painful than having them put in. I was currently fighting every instinct I had not to rip my arm out of Sam's hands.

"Sorry!" Sam apologized for the millionth time as he hit some sort of nerve or something in my shoulder again. My fist curled into a ball on reflex, and I slammed into the arm of the chair because I thought it would make me feel better. I was wrong.

"_…poor kid…this one's really deep in there…should've gone to the hospital…" _Sam was thinking. I tried to focus on the thoughts of everybody in the room. Anything to get my mind off of the excruciating pain I was feeling at the moment.

Gabby was trying to figure out whether or not we should take some time off and visit Bobby, John was scheming ways to bring up his proposition to us, and Dean was thinking about…oh, God, I don't ever want to see anything like that again.

There were tears slowly falling down my face as Sam was rooting around for the last tooth in my shoulder. I let out a yelp when he finally got a hold of it and yanked it out. I gritted my teeth while he poured some alcohol on the wound, and then bandaged it up.

"I'm finished. There isn't much else you can do for bites except keep them clean to prevent infection really," Sam said as he stood up. John handed me a half-empty bottle of cheap whiskey.

"That ought to help take the edge off for now," he said. I opened the bottle and took a few swigs. It tasted awful, and I ended up hacking up a lung. I just shook my head and handed it back to him. I honestly don't see how anybody can drink that stuff for fun, but he wasn't lying. It took about a minute for my body to relax and the warmth of the whiskey to settle in my stomach.

"Thanks," I mumbled to both him and Sam.

"No problem, Abigail," Sam replied. John just nodded.

"_I sure hope he's going to ask us for help soon because I don't feel like bumming around here with our thumbs up our asses for much longer_," I thought as my head fell against the back of the chair.

"_And I sure hope you aren't this much of a lightweight when you've got all six quarts of blood in your body_," Gabby sighed outwardly.

"_I'm serious. What are we going to do?_"

"_I've been poking around, and from what I can tell he wants you to help him track the thing he's after. He's good, but he needs to find it faster_." She was certain that was what he wanted, but she seemed reluctant. I could feel the wariness laced into her thoughts.

"_What's wrong with that?_" I wondered.

"_The thing they're hunting…it's a demon. That's a pretty big fish just by itself, and the one they're after is nasty, Abby. It's up to you whether or not you want to get involved with this thing. You're the better tracker_."

"_I'm in if you're in. We haven't got anything else on our plate right now_."

"_You're hurt. You look like you were mauled by a bear for Christ's sake._"

_ "'Tis but a flesh wound," _I thought as I tried to suppress a laugh.

_ "That wasn't funny," _Gabby's mental voice was stern, but there was a grin on her face too.

"Do you guys use that psychic bit to communicate then?" Dean asked rather out of the blue.

"You can tell?" Gabby asked, sounding a little nonplussed.

"It was just a hunch. I'm guessing it's more effective than a walkie-talkie," he said simply.

"You've got that right," Gabby replied. It was amazing that they were having a civilized conversation right now. I give it about two seconds before something sets them off again. I decided that it was my turn to ruin the moment of peace. I opened my eyes and looked levelly at John.

"We know this wasn't just out of the goodness of your hearts, you know. We're not that naïve," I said quietly. He had his poker face on as he sized me up, but I could sense amusement underneath the surface.

"Well, spit it out," I goaded him. His grin finally breached the surface.

"I was hoping you would let us utilize those tracking skills of yours," he finally said. I motioned for him to elaborate. "We're looking for something. It's a demon, to be specific. It's one elusive bastard, and it's always one step ahead of us. If you two helped us, we might be able to get the edge we need."

"What's the catch?" Gabby asked.

"I don't need your help fighting it, but I do need your help _finding_ it. It'll still be dangerous, and I can't guarantee your safety. It's killed a lot of people for a lot less," he replied cautiously, looking from me to Gabby.

"Your call, Abigail," Gabby conceded. She hung her head in defeat as the Winchesters all turned to look at me.

"Count us in."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"So, this is it," John said, gesturing around the hotel room in Manning where he'd left all of his research pinned to the walls while we were out hunting the last vampire. It wasn't what I would have done, but whatever. "This is everything I know." Abby and I sat on the bed that was situated behind John's desk, trying not to be seen.

"Look, our whole lives we've been searching for this demon, right? And not a trace, nothing…until about a year ago. And for the first time, I picked up a trail."

"That's when you took off," Dean interrupted while Sam brooded against the kitchenette sink. I listened quietly while John explained that the demon had come out of hiding and had been leaving a trail from Arizona to New Jersey to California.

"It's going after families, just like it went after us."

"Families with infants?" Sam wondered.

"Yeah," John hung his head. "The night of the kid's six month birthday."

"I was six months old that night?"

"Exactly six months…"

Sam's mood darkened. "So, basically this demon is going after these kids for some reason…the same way it came for me?" It took me a minute to realize his irritation was with John for not having told him, and with himself because he thought he could have stopped it. "So, Mom's death…Jessica…it's all 'cause of me?"

"We don't know that, Sam," Dean insisted.

"Oh, really?! Because I'm sure that we're pretty damn sure, Dean!"

"For the last time, what happened to them was not your fault!" "_Wish he'd stop blaming himself. He was six months old, for fuck's sake_."

"No, it's not my fault, but it's my problem!" Sam raised his voice and took an offensive stance.

"It's _our_ problem!" Dean yelled back.

"Okay! That's enough!" John stood up.

"_So many issues…_" I worried and tapped my foot. Their conversation went on, but Abby and I had stopped paying attention. There was way too much testosterone and pent up anger between the three of them. It made our heads hurt. "_I'm starting to worry that this may not have been a brilliant plan_."

"_They helped us_," she reminded me.

"_Yeah, with a pack of vampires! This demon sounds like a pretty big fish! Compared to that, our vamps were a fucking cake-walk!_"

"_Then they'll owe us in the future._"

"_If we have a future_," I seethed quietly. The yelling had died down. Now John and Dean were just sad, while Sam was ready to hit the road and kill the demon.

"Where?" he asked with a jerk of his head.

"Salvation, Iowa," John told him.

I was following Dean's Impala into the town limits of Salvation when John veered off onto a side road. I'd gathered that there was some static coming from his truck, but I'd been more focused on Sam and Dean.

Dean was worried about how focused Sam was on getting this job done right. He did not worry in vain. Sam was worried about getting the job done, but wasn't as worried about doing it right. He was too emotionally attached to see this objectively.

We parked next to a river. Right as I was getting out of the Challenger, I heard John say, "I just got a call from Caleb."

"Is he okay?" Dean asked worriedly.

"He's fine. Jim Murphy is dead."

"Pastor Jim? How?" Sam was appalled, sad, and frustrated. I didn't blame him. So many people had died because of this demon. I didn't think he should blame himself for it all, though. What could he do, really?

"Throat was slashed…he bled out. Caleb said they found traces of sulfur at Jim's place."

"A demon?" Dean asked. John nodded. "_The_ demon?"

"I don't know. Could be he just got careless, he slipped up. Maybe the demon knows we're getting close." John was beyond frustrated. Jim Murphy had been a good friend and ally, one that John had counted as indispensable.

"What do you wanna do?"

"Now we act like every second counts. There's two hospitals and a health center in this county. We split up, we cover more grounds. I want records. I want a list of every infant that will be six months old in the next week."

"Dad, that could be dozens of kids. How will we know which one is the right one?" Sam questioned him. He was right. That list could be miles long.

"We check them all, that's how! Got any better ideas?"

"No, sir," he conceded. It was almost funny how hard it was for Sam to agree with John, even on the simplest things.

"Dad?" Dean said right before John climbed into his car.

"Yeah?" he replied. They exchanged a look that I couldn't really see before John said, "It's Jim. You know, I can't… This ends. Now. I'm ending it. I don't care what it takes."

John got back in his truck. Dean and Sam glanced backward at Abby and I, who were at a loss for words. I really didn't know what to tell them. Losing friends was hard, especially when they'd just gotten caught in the crossfire and weren't actually involved firsthand.

I followed them to a hospital, where Dean told me they were to split up. "Freckles, you're going with Sam. Gabby, you're with me. Dad's got the other hospital covered."

"Of course," I rolled my eyes, but went with Dean even though I didn't want to.

"Hi," said the pretty girl behind the counter. Dean walked up to her with as charming of a smile as he could muster. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Oh, God, yes," he replied.

The girl blushed and smiled down at her papers. "_Cute, but what a creep_," she thought to herself.

"_Real smooth, Casanova_," I projected to him.

"_Shut up_." "Only, I'm working right now, so…" he flashed his badge. I blanched a little. No one had told me we were supposed to be fake cops. "This is my partner in training. She doesn't have her badge, yet." Dean gestured towards me, and the idiot girl bought it. In fact, she believed it so much that she started to worry about us finding the stash of cocaine she had stored in her purse. I almost wanted to say something.

"Oh, well, what can I help you nice officers with?"

"We're looking for records on infants that will be six months old within the next week."

The girl breathed a sigh of relief, turned around, and started rifling through drawers to try to find the appropriate files. Dean stared at her the whole time she did it, admiring her assets. I slapped him on his arm, which was more muscular than I'd previously thought. "_What was that for…?_"

"_She's on cocaine_," I told him. "_And she's a lesbian_." Only the last part was a lie, but it got him to focus more on the job.

When she turned around with the files I said, "Can you give us copies of those? Just one copy will do."

My head flooded with images all of a sudden. I recognized them as what Abby was seeing.

_Sam was clutching at his head, seeing images of a baby's room. "Sam! Sam, are you okay?" I asked urgently and tried to get him to focus on talking to me. "What is it? What's happening?" _

_ "The baby…" He saw a woman putting a baby girl in her crib. In the distance, a train was rumbling down a track. A dark man in a coat was standing over the crib, just as the mom walked into the room. Then it stopped. "Train…" He quit clutching his head and pulled a map out of his backpack. "This," he pointed at a neighborhood. "This is the only baby that fits our description and lives near train tracks." _

_ "You're sure that's the one we're looking for?" Why hadn't he said anything about these visions? I hadn't sensed it like I did every other time I met another psychic. _

_ "Yes!"He took off running in the direction of the house in question. I reluctantly followed. _

_ "Keep digging,"_ she told me outside of what she was seeing. "_I'm not sure how accurate he is._"

I kept looking through the files, but I was so distracted. Sam was a psychic? I felt like that was something he should have mentioned to us, especially since he knew we were psychics too. Maybe that was why he hesitated when he had a gun pointed at Abby's head the night we met them in Manning.

"You okay?" Dean glanced up from his pile of paperwork. Our eyes met for a second. I'd never really paid attention to Dean's looks much. So, up until now, I hadn't noticed that his eyes were very green. He was tall, but not as freakishly tall as Sam, and broad shouldered. His light brown hair was cut short and spiked into a faux-hawk type of style, and his facial features were really soft…for a guy anyway.

"I'm fine. It's just Sam," I replied before I thought about it. Dean, naturally, got upset.

"What about Sam?" "_Is he in trouble? Did he find something? I don't know how this psychic shit works…_"

"Nothing. I'll talk to you about it later." "_Not here…_"

He gritted his teeth and flipped the file that he was looking at closed with frustration. "It could be any one of these kids. How are we supposed to know which one it is?"

"I think Sam found the one it's supposed to be," I told him.

"How do you know that?"

"Abby told me," I shrugged.

"_How the hell do they do that?_" he wondered and stared at the files idly again.

"_Like this_," I smiled. He shook his head and rubbed his face with his hands.

About twenty minutes later, Dean's cell phone rang. It was Sam saying he wanted us to meet him at a hotel somewhere downtown. From the bits and pieces I could hear, it sounded pretty urgent.

"Let's roll, sweet cheeks." Dean grabbed all of his stuff and led me back out to the car.

"Don't call me that," I rolled my eyes and followed behind his trail of Old Spice and leather.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The whole atmosphere of the house had changed once Sam and Dean showed up. Sam was pissed and determined to kill this demon of theirs, maybe to compensate for the fear he was feeling. Dean was just scared. He was scared that his Dad would die, scared that Sam would die doing something stupid, scared that they would never get the thing that killed their Mom. It had to be overwhelming, but he was playing it off surprisingly well. Gabby seemed pretty impressed with it too.

Bobby had to talk them down when they first got here; they were both running over each other trying to explain what the hell was going on. From what I gathered from their thoughts and Dean's hasty explanation of events since we left them, a demon named Meg has killed a lot of their Dad's old friends and now had him hostage. Of course, bringing a fake to the trade hadn't been their smoothest move. John had to have known that it wouldn't work; that's like the first thing a demon would check for.

"Look, I know this plan was sketchy from the beginning, but my Dad's in trouble. She said…she said they killed him, but I don't buy it. They're going to want to make a trade, I know it," Dean said as he finished his recap. Sam hung his head. He disagreed. If we were going to be logical, it was a fifty-fifty shot. They could have kept him to make a trade for the Colt, but they also could have killed him hoping that Sam and Dean would just bring the Colt to avenge his death.

Sam was smart to keep his opinions to himself. It would break Dean if he really thought his father was dead. "If you two get to the Colt to them fast enough, they're sure as hell going to come after it themselves. What you boys need is a plan," Bobby announced gruffly.

"I'm all ears," Dean said. I could feel the desperation tinge his thoughts, even if he kept it from leaking into his voice.

"Well, we can't just kill this demon, Meg, right?" Bobby paused for affirmation before going on. "We're going to have to get her to stay put long enough to figure out what happened to John."

"So you're suggesting that we try to trap a demon? How?" Dean asked, sounding more than a little skeptical.

"I've got an idea. I don't know if it'll work, but it's better than nothin'. You two get some coffee or something while I go find the book I need. The girls know where everything is." Bobby said and promptly left the room.

"I'll put some coffee on, if you'd like," Gabby offered.

"Yeah, thanks, we drove all night so we're going to need it," Dean nodded. Gabby got up from the rickety old chair she was occupying, and walked into the kitchen. Dean ran one of his hands down his face and blinked tiredly. The fatigue was starting to set in now that his adrenaline was wearing off.

I was kind of staring as I was taking it all in, so I wasn't surprised that he caught my eye and gave me an obligatory half-smile. I tried to reciprocate, but it probably ended up looking like I was in pain.

"Sorry you guys are getting drug into our family shit again," Sam said from behind Bobby's desk. I just shrugged. It's not like we've got somewhere else to be. It was kind of dangerous, but that just comes with the territory.

"I know you've gotta be tired of hearing the name Winchester by now. I would be," Dean sighed.

"No, not really," I replied, "It helps that you're all such a charming bunch." I couldn't keep a straight face for very long at that, and neither could they.

"Alright, it should be done in a few minutes." Gabby said as she reentered the room.

"Thanks," Dean said, and Gabby muttered a "Don't mention it." It was good to know that it only took a family member in mortal peril to bring the two of them closer together.

Bobby walked in a few minutes later with a rather large book in hand. It was an old, dusty book I know I'd seen around here before. At the time, I didn't understand a thing that was in it.

"I found what I was looking for: _The Key of Solomon,_"Bobby reported as he flipped through the pages. "…_haven't looked through this in ages…hope I find the damn thing…" _he thought absentmindedly.

"And what is that exactly?" Dean asked as he eyed the book suspiciously.

"It's King Solomon's book of spells. Now hush so I can find what I'm looking for…" Bobby grumbled. I could see a lot of archaic, geometric drawings sifting through Bobby's mind. Of course, there had to be some symbol or pentacle that could protect them from Meg in there.

"..._Solomon?...why are we messing with magic at a time like this?..." _Dean's thoughts were flooded with confusion.

"Solomon was a prophet. He was King of Israel, son of David," Gabby looked at him like she was expecting him to understand, but he had no idea what she was talking about. Sam's shoulders were shaking with silent laughter behind them. "_…so not the bible school type…" _He stopped laughing abruptly when Bobby plopped the book down in front of him.

"There's your plan right there," Bobby said and pointed to an intricate design centered on one of the pages. Sam stared at it so hard I almost heard the wheels turning in his head.

"What is it?" he finally asked, defeated.

"It's a pentacle. It can be used as a protective circle, or it can be used to banish, summon, or contain people and entities," Bobby explained.

"So our plan is to capture her long enough to find out what she knows, and then what?"

"Exorcise her. She ain't boardin' eternity in my living room, so she's got to go," Bobby chuckled. He left the room again and came back shortly with a ladder and some painting supplies. We all caught on to what he was doing and helped him get the pentacle on the ceiling, but he insisted on doing most of it himself because it had to be 'damn near perfect'.

"Only thing left to do now is to wait," Bobby huffed as he put the ladder away, "I'll be back in a second."

"_Do you think this will turn nasty?" _I thought to Gabby. For a moment, all I heard was static.

"_I don't know," _she finally responded, "_It could go both ways. I sure hope everything turns out okay. You were right about John earlier." _

I responded with a confused look, so she explained, "_It would be terrible for them to lose their father right now, and it would devastate Dean. He'd be inconsolable, totally worthless on the job." _

"Here you go," Bobby offered Dean a silver flask with a cross on it. He was holding an identical one in his other hand.

"What is this? Holy water?" Dean asked while he inspected it.

"That one is. This one is whiskey." Bobby replied before he took a swig. He offered it to Dean, and he drank some too. I guess everybody has their own ways of coping with stress. Gabby rolled her eyes, clearly disapproving.

"Bobby," Dean started. "Bobby, thanks for everything. To tell you the truth I wasn't sure if we should come."

"Nonsense, your Daddy needs help," Bobby brushed it off. Sam had looked from the Key long enough to marvel at Dean's sentimental outburst.

"Yeah, well, the last time we saw you, you threatened to blast him full of buckshot. You cocked the shotgun and everything."

"What can I say? John just has that effect on people," Bobby chuckled.

"Yeah, I guess he does," Dean conceded.

"_It's not too late to get out of here before the action starts,_"Gabby's suggestion rang through my head. It would be smart to leave, but they were our friends. It was a really perverted version of friendship, but it still counted. "_You're probably right. I just didn't want you to feel trapped here, you know?_" Gabby gave me a reassuring smile from across the room.

"Bobby, this book…I've never seen anything like it," Sam commented seemingly out of nowhere. He had been pretty focused on that thing since Bobby had put it in front of him.

"It's the real deal all right," Bobby replied.

"Are you sure these protective circles are going to work?"

"Hell yeah, they work. You get this demon to walk into this thing, they're trapped. They're powerless. It's like a satanic roach motel."

"The man knows his stuff," Dean remarked.

"I'll tell you something else I know: this is some serious crap you boys stepped in," Bobby replied. He sat down on the desk and readjusted his trucker cap. "…_always knew John would drag these two down the deep end with him…" _

"Oh yeah, how's that?" Sam asked.

"Normal year, I hear about three demonic possessions, maybe four tops. This year I heard of twenty-seven so far. Shoot, almost half the cases I got lined up for these two are screaming 'demonic entity'. You get what I'm saying?" Bobby's tone had gotten pretty concerned. Sam and Dean shared one of their looks. They were both thinking the same thing. The yellow-eyed demon was behind this.

"Do you know why this is happening?" Sam asked Bobby.

"No, but I know it's big. You boys, your Daddy, you are smack in the middle of it."

There was a silence in the room for a split second, and I'm not proud to admit I got some goose bumps. I knew that this was big. I just now registered that I wasn't comfortable with the fact that it was so outrageously bigger than me.

The fleeting moment was broken by the sound of Bobby's dog barking. He got up quickly and crossed to the window. We all rushed to the other side of the room to see what was wrong.

"Rumsfeld?" Bobby was straining to see anything through the blinds. "Something's wrong."

That something kicked Bobby's door in about two seconds later.

"No more crap, okay?" she announced, agitated. For a sociopathic demon she sure looked pretty normal. Petite, blonde pixie cut, jeans and a t-shirt. The look in her eyes was what set her apart.

Dean tried to deter her with holy water, but she sent him flying into the wall. Gabby whipped out her gun, with salt rounds, but Sam shoved it down towards the ground. "_It'll only make her more pissed off,_"he thought to her. She begrudgingly left her gun down.

Meg was approaching us now. I couldn't read her mind, but I could feel the energy coming off of her. She was strong. She was stronger than anything we'd come up against before. Sam pushed Bobby behind him, trying to get in front of all of us.

"I want the Colt, Sam. I want the real one. Right now," Meg demanded.

"We don't have it on us. We buried it," Sam lied, trying to back away from her. I don't blame her for not being convinced.

"Didn't I just say 'no more crap'?" She started to raise her voice. "I swear, after everything I heard about you Winchesters, I've got to tell you I'm a little _underwhelmed._"

Sam was backing up, backing us all up, towards the other side of the room.

"First, Johnny tries to pawn off a fake gun, and then he leaves the real gun with you two chuckleheads. Did you really think I wouldn't find you?" She finished her little rant.

"Actually, we were counting on it." Dean grunted. Damn, I really thought he was down for the count on that one. Meg turned to look back at him, but he directed his eyes to the ceiling over her head. That's when she noticed it.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Meg screamed at the pentacle. She was half-hysterical as Sam and Dean wrestled her into a chair and tied her down. Bobby left to make sure she didn't have back up outside anywhere.

"You know, if you wanted to tie me up, all you had to do was ask," Meg's tone was disturbingly sultry. Dean and Sam didn't bat an eyelash. They seemed pretty livid. I'd hate to be the one responsible for messing with their family right now.

"I salted the doors and windows. If there are any demons out there, they aren't getting in here," Bobby reported as he came back into the room. Dean nodded and walked over to stand right in front of Meg.

"You two keep watch near the front door, just in case. Holler if you need anything." Bobby handed us some holy water and slapped us both on the back. The front door was pretty close to the room Meg was in, so we could still hear everything that was going on.

"Where's our father, Meg?" Dean demanded.

"You didn't ask very nicely."

"Where's our father, bitch?" He didn't miss a beat.

"Jeez, you kiss your mother with that mouth? Oh, that's right, you can't."

"You think this is a fucking game?" Dean finally snapped. "Where is he? What did you do to him?"

"He died screaming. I killed him myself." I could hear the smile in her voice.

"_She's about to get it,_"Gabby projected to me as she stared out the front window. I heard the sound of Dean's fist connecting with Meg's face before I could respond. She gave me a look that clearly said I-told-you-so.

"That's kind of a turn-on, you hitting a girl," Meg said, un-phased.

"You're no girl," Dean gritted out.

"Dean," Bobby warned."Dean, you've got to be careful with her. Don't hurt her."

"Why?"

"Because she really is a girl, that's why."

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked, sounding confused.

"She's possessed. That's a human possessed by a demon. Can't you tell?" Bobby replied like this was elementary stuff. To be fair, it kind of was.

"Are you trying to tell me there's an innocent girl trapped somewhere in there?" Dean asked.

"_How could he not know?" _I wondered, astounded. Gabby just shrugged.

"_I can imagine he's under some emotional distress right now," _she thought back.

"Sam, get ready to read the exorcism. It's time to evict this twisted bitch," Dean ordered. There was some shuffling for a few seconds while Sam tried to locate whatever the exorcism was written down in. It was probably John's journal. If I were working with demons, that's the first thing I would do is memorize an exorcism.

"_I never thought I'd say it, but thank God we've been dealing exclusively with vampires so far," _Gabby thought. I nodded my agreement.

"Are you going to read me a story?" Meg asked out of the blue. Her tone was patronizing at best.

"Something like that. Hit it, Sam," Dean replied. There was a moment of hesitation before Sam began the exorcism rite.

"An exorcism, are you serious?" Meg laughed, but the stream of Latin continued.

"Oh, we're going for it baby. Head spinning, projectile vomiting, the whole nine yards," Dean replied ruefully.

The only sound for the next few seconds was Sam chanting, and then I heard her start to grunt in pain. I was scared it wasn't going to work for a second there. Sam stopped reading long enough for the demon to regain her composure.

"I'm going to kill you," she whispered, "I'm going to rip the bones from your body."

"No, you're going to burn in hell. Not unless you tell us where our Dad is." Dean didn't sound as scared as he felt. His mind was a mess right now. He waited a beat, and when she didn't respond he said, "Well, at least you'll get a nice tan."

Sam finally started reading the exorcism again. It took a few more seconds for it to start working again, but then she started groaning.

"He begged for his life with tears in his eyes. He begged to see his sons one last time. That's when I slit his throat," she yelled over the exorcism. It was enough to get Sam to stutter over the next few words of the right.

The tension in that room was building. They were close to getting that thing out of that girl's body, I could feel it. The energy leaking out of that pentacle was dark and twisted, pure evil. It wasn't like anything I'd felt before. It was honestly making me nauseous. Gabby was having trouble hiding her disgust as well.

I could hear Dean murmuring something, but I didn't quite catch it over the sound of Sam's voice. He was beyond pissed. His thoughts weren't even in words anymore. It was just tangled balls of emotion. It was like different waves crashing over his brain at random intervals.

Every once and a while, Meg would let out a grunt or a groan. She was trying hard to hold on to her host body. How long were exorcisms supposed to take? If John really was alive, they would probably kill him when they found out Sam and Dean sent Meg back to hell. They needed to get a move on it. The window of opportunity was closing fast.

"Where is he?" Dean demanded.

"You just won't take 'dead' for an answer will you?" she panted back.

"Where is he?" Dean screamed again.

"Dead," she yelled back.

"No, he's not. He's not dead. He can't be," Dean snapped. Sam was tripping all over himself trying to get this exorcism out while his brother was having a mental breakdown. It was really starting to work now. Meg was screaming, and I could hear the definitive scrape of her chair against the hardwood floor.

. The emotions building up in that room were a little too much to take, and the demon wasn't helping. I felt like shit. One glance at Gabby, and I knew she was feeling it too. Her face had gone awfully pale. I can't imagine I looked any better.

"_Maybe we should keep watch outside," _she suggested weakly.

"_Agreed. They don't need us in here anyway. Maybe we can find Rumsfeld,"_ I nodded, and we both opened the door and stepped into the fresh air. My stomach was still reeling. It was like I was twelve years old again, going to the dance for the first time. All those people packed in the gym were too much for me. My stomach did a few backflips, and my head went fuzzy. I spent most of it puking in the bathroom.

"You know, I had totally forgotten about that," Gabby laughed. I guess she didn't want to stress the psychic connection anymore today.

"Feels like forever ago," I stated quietly. Everything about our old lives seemed too shiny now. I didn't really want to think about it.

"I don't think they killed John. He's too valuable," Gabby said as she sat down on one of the porch steps. I stood at the top of the steps so I'd have a better view of the junkyard.

"I guess we'll find out sooner or later. I hope this is over soon for them. We took care of our 'demons' in no time at all. John has been chasing this thing for over twenty years."

"Yeah, I'm more surprised he let himself get caught. It's not like him. He's so anal retentive and secretive about everything," Gabby sighed. The boys sure had landed themselves into a heap of trouble.

"He let his emotions get in the way. This hunt is too personal. They're too close. He isn't thinking rationally," I offered as explanation. Gabby didn't agree or disagree. I think she wanted to avoid another discussion about how I'm too cold and clinical.

Something about this whole thing didn't seem right. They knew she was coming after the Winchesters. They knew she would be outnumbered. Why hadn't any other demons shown up to help her? Were they waiting for a sign? Or was she really that confident that she thought she could take them on all by herself?

"I hope this doesn't take too much longer. I'd like to get that demon out of that girl sometime before my fiftieth birthday," I sighed, but I had spoken too soon. Meg's scream was loud enough to wake the dead. The demon leaving her body caused a tremor in the psychic field. It was like picking up seismic activity.

I helped Gabby up, and I gave the yard one last sweep before I followed her back inside. Bobby was rushing out of his study, and he thrust his phone in Gabby's hands.

"Call 911, tell them there's a girl dying out here," he ordered before he scrambled out of the room. Gabby fumbled with the phone and quickly dialed the number. Once she had given them Bobby's information, we both went to scope out the damage.

Meg, or rather the girl Meg was possessing, was lying bloody and battered on the floor. Sam and Dean were talking to her quietly. They were trying to figure out where John was and if Meg was telling the truth.

"_That's a little indelicate, don't you think?" _Gabby's disappointment was evident. I shrugged.

"_If you were in John's shoes, and I was in theirs, I can't say I'd be very delicate either," _I replied.

"_Fair enough," _Gabby let it drop. Bobby came back from his little excursion with blankets and a glass of water. The three of them quickly propped her head on the blankets and tried to get her to choke back some of the water.

"Do you know where the other demon is? The one we're looking for?" Sam asked her. They were running out of time. I could feel her consciousness getting weaker and weaker.

"Not there….other ones…awful ones…" she choked out. I could see in her mind the demons she was talking about. They all were in hosts, and the only scenery I saw was the inside a room. It wasn't much to go off of.

"Where are they keeping our Dad?" Dean asked. His tone was firm, like he wasn't going to let her die until he knew everything that she knew.

"By the river…s-sunrise…" the girl whispered. It was disturbing, being this close when a human spark went out. It wasn't instantaneous. It fizzled and sputtered like a car using up its last drops of gasoline. She was gone.

"Sunrise? What does that mean? What does that mean?" Dean demanded and shook her body expectantly.

"Dean, stop, it's too late," Gabby said firmly with her hand on his shoulder.

"_…suicide mission…don't have shit to go on…" _Dean's mind was reeling. He stood up and ran his fingers through his hair. I felt sorry for Sam considering he was going to have to work with Dean like this.

"_…didn't' even know her real name…God, we're so fucked…" _Sam thought as he closed the girls' eyes and set her hands on her stomach.

"You boys pack your shit and hit the road. You're wasting daylight. I need you girls high-tail it out of here until I'm done dealing with the cops. I don't want you two on the Sheriff's radar," Bobby ordered. Sam and Dean shoved whatever they had brought inside into their duffel bag hastily, and Gabby ran upstairs to grab the keys.

"You might need this." Bobby handed the Key of Solomon over to Sam.

"Thanks, Bobby. What are you going to tell the paramedics?" Sam sounded concerned as he tucked the book carefully under his arm.

"You think you guys invented lying to the cops? I'll figure something out," Bobby chuckled.

"Thanks again, Bobby, for everything. Take care of yourself." Dean's genuine tone was strange and alien for him. Gabby bounded down the stairs in time to see them off.

"The same goes for you two. Go save your Dad. And once that's done, try bringing him around won't you? I promise I won't even try to shoot him this time." Bobby clapped them both on the back.

"Hey, good luck you guys. Don't be strangers either." Gabby gave them both quick hugs. They turned to me expectantly, and it took me an embarrassingly long moment to figure out why.

"Oh-uh-good luck. I guess," I shrugged. I tried not to sound too flustered, but judging by their laugher I failed.

"And here I thought you were warming up to us. See you around, Freckles," Dean said and punched me in the shoulder. I suppressed any and all urges to say 'ow'.

Gabby and I followed them out of the door and got in our car. We pulled out of Bobby's drive way right after them and headed in the opposite direction.

"_Where are we going?" _I asked Gabby.

"_I figured we could go somewhere and shoot some cans or something. You're good with a knife, but your shot isn't exactly up to par," _she responded. I hated to admit it, but she had a valid point.

"You're going to need to pick up some new clothes before you start this case," Bobby informed us as we were packing books and supplies the next day.

"Why?" I tried not to sound petulant.

"You're going to have to visit the crime scenes and maybe the morgue for this case. It'll cause less suspicion if you fake your way in as opposed to relying on your psychic stuff."

"But…isn't impersonating a federal agent really, really illegal? Like, we'll have to break out of jail if we're caught?"

"Very illegal, Abigail, but don't worry. You've got too much of a baby face to pass for a fed any time soon. For now, you two will be impersonating journalists." He laughed and tossed Gabby some badges. I took mine and studied it for a second. It looked just like a legitimate press badge. The picture was from some fake I.D.'s we had made not too long ago.

"Nice, Bobby, thanks." Gabby smiled and slipped them into one of our backpacks.

"No problem, just don't lose 'em," Bobby said and left us to the rest of our packing.

"I don't really have a baby face, do I?" I wondered aloud as I scrutinized my reflection. Gabby just laughed from across the room. She was recounting our stock of salt rounds before we packed them away.

"I think it's the freckles, Abby," she observed. "Hey, would you quit trying to frown them away and help me get this stuff to the car?"

It wasn't much gear to be honest. Most of it was weapons and Gabby's clothes. We had made a deal to try to limit how much clothing we would lug around with us, but it seemed I was the only one who actually adhered to the rule. Everyone is entitled to indulge in something though right? I'm not really into the fashion stuff or girly stuff, but even I had to admit that Gabby had style. She always looked nice. I'm always torn between marveling at it and being irritated with it.

I grabbed the two bags with weapons down to the car first, and then I went back to haul the rest of the clothes down with Gabby. It wasn't long before the car was packed and organized.

"Don't forget this," Bobby said and handed me the manila folder with all of the hunt details in it.

"Thanks," I smiled and set it down on the passenger seat.

"Remember: call me if you need anything or if you get into trouble."

"Yes, sir," Gabby said, and we both gave him a mock salute before climbing into the car.

"_Idjits…think they're funny…," _he thought as he shook his head. It was more loving than insulting though.

"So this is Citrus Heights huh?" Gabby remarked as we pulled into town. It wasn't really all that big, or at least it wasn't that big for a California town. I was more interested in the murders than the scenery anyway. I'd been reading the case over and over since we left Bobby's, and I still didn't have a clue as to what we were dealing with here. To be completely honest, I wasn't convinced that all of these incidents were related.

The first death happened almost three months ago. It was some big business guy: Raymond Emery. He worked for a big manufacturing company in Sacramento, and lived here with his wife and three kids. Raymond managed to trip in the shower and fell hard enough to break the glass. According to the newspaper, Raymond also was found by his house-keeper with rather large shards of glass in each eye and in his face. Something was definitely off about that. It said in the notes that Bobby had kept an eye on it, but it seemed to be an isolated incident.

Then Marty Sullivan had died six weeks ago, and it didn't seem so isolated anymore. He was a lawyer who moved out to California from Boston, but he didn't have any family out here to speak of. A very large pane of glass fell from the crane lifting it over three stories up and impaled him on his way out of his firm. His distant relative decided to cremate him because it would have taken a miracle to put him back together again. The two men had done business together on several occasions, and they were known to be friends outside of work.

Their deaths were definitely wonky, but the third story in the case threw everything out of balance. An elderly woman named Brigit Hunt died by electrocution while washing the dishes. The official report said that there was an 'unidentified electrical malfunction' which meant that the police had no idea how it happened. They had every electrical expert and plumbing specialists in the area try to figure it out, but they all ruled it as a very fatal anomaly. The problem is that there is absolutely no connection between the two men and Brigit beyond their strange and painful deaths.

"You're over-thinking it." Gabby sighed from the driver's seat. She had insisted on driving the whole way, so her fatigue was really her own fault.

"_Where do you want to start?" _I asked.

"That old lady's family, I think. Her death is the most recent. We can also look into those two guys' histories and see if there was anywhere important they collided. This whole thing is a mess."

"You know, we'd cover more ground if one of us did the researching while the other one went out to question people," I suggested.

"That's a good idea actually. We'll book a motel, and then you can change and go talk to the Hunt family while I visit the library."

"Gabby!" I groaned, rather melodramatically I might add. I was hoping to avoid the whole "social interaction" thing on this hunt.

"Look, I love you, but it's time."

"Time for what, exactly?"

"You know what, Abigail. You're going to talk to that dead lady's kids," Gabby replied firmly. I knew fighting her was a lost cause, so I just rolled my eyes and decided to sulk the rest of the drive.

Of course, I knew what she was talking about. We had a 'talk' a few weeks ago about all the things that were going to change now that the vampires were all dead. She had told me that we had to start living life instead of just going through the motions. I think she was talking about all of that smelling-the-roses stuff. Gabby had also told me that I had to quit benching myself before the game even began, whatever that meant.

It was easy for her to say that I had to come out of my shell; she never had a shell to come out of in the first place. Gabby was full of natural confidence and openness that had always contrasted starkly with my extreme introversion and 'anti-social tendencies'. I could be sociable. I just don't like to talk about stupid stuff like the weather or sports or how any of your weird children are doing.

Gabby snorted and snapped me back to reality.

"What's so funny?" I demanded.

"You're overthinking it again. Now quit before you give yourself an aneurysm. I won't accept that as an excuse not to talk to the Hunt family."

"Alright, spill. What did you find out?" Gabby ordered as soon as she came barging back into our hotel room.

"I think we're dealing with witches," I replied, not taking my eyes off of my laptop screen.

"What makes you say that?" Gabby sounded skeptical.

"I talked to her son today. He said all of the usual stuff: she was a nice old lady, nice to everyone. I don't think he had a clue what she was up to. He just said that she was into 'new age mumbo jumbo'. I asked him what he meant, and he ended up showing me a hex bag she had given him."

"Oh, well, I guess that's a good reason to speculate."

"Yeah, I thought so too," I replied dryly.

"Don't be a jerk, Abigail. You found out the monster, but _I _found out the connection between the three victims."

"Care to elaborate?"

"About a year ago, Emery's brother was charged with rape by Diana Hunt, Brigit's granddaughter. Sullivan was the one defending him, and he ended up getting sentenced to some community service or something because he was such an 'upstanding citizen'."

"Are you serious? He had to, like, pick up trash as recompense for raping someone?"

"Dead serious," Gabby nodded gravely. "By the way, who the hell says recompense anymore?"

"Well, excuse me and my expanded vocabulary."

"Calm down, Shakespeare. Anyway, Hunt didn't react well to the verdict either. She broke into his house a month later, waited for him to get home from work, and then she stabbed him thirty-seven times in the chest, face, and-uh-genitals. They had to identify his body by his teeth because he was so disfigured."

I just stared in shocked silence. "_Talk about going off the deep end."_

"You're telling me. Anyway, Sullivan worked the case against her for first-degree murder, and now she's in jail for twenty years to life."

"Okay, so that explains Emery and Sullivan's deaths, but it doesn't explain Grandma. Not unless she had some sort of beef with her too?"

"No way, her Grandmother was the one knocking on doors trying to raise money and awareness. They were really close apparently. If they really are witches, then I think it was Grandma who was doing the hexing."

"Could be," I thought for a moment. "I remember reading something about the law of three. It's like one of Newton's laws for witches. Everything, bad or good, that you put out into the universe comes back to you three-fold."

"Are you saying that the whole deep-fried Granny incident was bad karma?" Gabby sounded more than a little skeptical.

"It's possible. What other explanation is there?" I was honestly at a loss for any other ways for all of these deaths to have happened, but Gabby and I shared a resonating bad feeling.

"It can't be that easy. It's never that easy."

Gabby is grunting and groaning in her sleep again. It's been a while since she had any bad dreams. I guess it was only a matter of time. I didn't have the heart or the energy to wake her up at the moment, so I just let her sleep it off.

It's our third day in Citrus Heights, and I couldn't sleep so I tried doing some exercise. I went out for a run, and now I'm sweaty, disgusting, and lying on the motel room floor as a result of an aborted rep of push-ups. It was hard trying to maintain muscle mass to try to keep up with all of the men we had to work with. I honestly didn't exercise that much unless I couldn't sleep or Gabby was threatening my life. I just find sleeping a much more enjoyable and useful task.

I really should wake Gabby up soon; there was another death last night. Some lady named Janet Abel choked to death on her herbal tea. Her friends tried to perform the Heimlich maneuver, and the paramedics tried to perform CPR but no dice. I'd bet money that the pathologist would find the tea in her lungs. I'd also be surprised if no one found a hex bag in her house somewhere.

"Gabby, let's go. We've still got a case." I shook her awake once I had begrudgingly hauled myself off of the floor. She groaned and tried to hide in the blankets. We wrestled for control of the blankets for a few seconds before I managed to rip them off of her. Vengeance is sweet.

"What time is it?" She groped for the alarm clock to check the time. "Why are you awake…and sweaty?"

"The early bird gets the worm, I guess. Get up."

"What happened? Did someone else die?"

"Yeah," I replied while I started up the coffee maker. "Some poor lady drowned in her tea last night while we were sitting around going through those court transcripts."

"She drowned in her tea? Jesus. How is this still happening? Everyone who was involved is dead right?" Gabby sounded frustrated. She ran her hand over her face a few times, trying to wake herself up.

"Apparently there's more going on here. We need to get a move on and figure out what it is before anybody else gets hurt."

"I agree. You can have first shower. You smell awful."


End file.
